Ralph Stanley - Oh Death

Jerome left a comment that he preferred Ralph Stanley's version of I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow. No competition here, all great musicians. Here is Ralph Stanley singing Oh Death, A cappella (voice only without any other musical instrument).

Man of Constant Sorrow

The song "Man of Constant Sorrow" was first recorded in the U.S. by a blind fiddler from Kentucky named Dick Burnett. Some people believe that he wrote it, but others say the song had existed for hundreds of years by the time Burnett published it in a songbook around 1913. Burnett never took credit for writing it, saying that he just didn't remember where that song came from.

It's a beauty. I am a man of constant sorrow. I've seen trouble all my day. Sometimes it feels like that.

Here's a version by Allison Krauss and Union Station, with Dan Tyminski singing the lead. A fabulous group of musicians.



(In constant sorrow through his days.)

I am a man of constant sorrow,
I've seen trouble all my day.
I bid farewell to old Kentucky,
The place where I was born and raised.
(The place where he was born and raised )

For six long years I've been in trouble,
No pleasures here on earth I found.
For in this world I'm bound to ramble,
I have no friends to help me now.
(He has no friends to help him now.)

It's fare thee well my old lover.
I never expect to see you again.
For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad,
Perhaps I'll die upon this train.
(Perhaps he'll die upon this train.)

You can bury me in some deep valley,
For many years where I may lay.
Then you may learn to love another,
While I am sleeping in my grave.
(While he is sleeping in his grave.)

Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face, you'll never see no more.
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore.
(He'll meet you on God's golden shore.)

Guess Who Won The U.S. War Against Iraq? Exxon-Mobil And Shell.

Iraq has the third largest oil reserves in the entire world. In the early 1970s, they nationalized their oil and threw out the western oil corporations which had previously dominated and stolen most of the oil from the middle east.

As soon as the Bush Regime took over the national government, W announced that he had appointed Dick Cheney to head up a national energy task force. In March of 2001, immediately after taking office, and after W claimed to set up this silly "task force," Cheney requested that he be provided maps showing the location of all the oil fields inside Iraq, and set up secret meetings with the heads of the major U.S. oil corporations. What were they planning? To invade Iraq and steal its oil? This is six months before the 9/11 hijackings.

As soon as the terrorists from Saudi Arabia hijacked four airplanes in the U.S. on 9/11/01, the neocons Cheney and Rumsfeld, as well as their entire criminal cartel, immediately began the push to invent a story that it was Iraq who had hijacked the airplanes, and to claim that the U.S. military must invade and occupy Iraq. They lied to the U.N., to the public, manipulated the media including using a reporter from the New York Times to spread these lies, outed CIA agents who got in their way, terrified the public with completely baseless suggestions that Iraq had a nuclear weapon that it was ready to detonate in the U.S. and create the "Mushroom Cloud" that would kill us all.

Then the U.S. attacked Iraq with an opening act right out of a Busby Berkeley movie, called "Shock and Awe," apparently intended to please the Americans back home by a show of how powerful our country is, how willing our leaders were to incinerate babies and grandmothers who never did a thing to hurt anyone.

Everything that the Bush administration told us has been proven to be a lie. Iraq had no involvement in 9/11. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq never threatened the U.S., nor did it have the apparent ability to do anything to harm our country. Iraq did not attack anyone, or threaten to attack anyone. But they do have oil. They have the third largest reserve of oil in the entire world. And the U.S. oil corporations wanted to steal that oil, which they are now doing.

All these years down the road, the only truth that has ever been disclosed is that the U.S. invaded Iraq to steal its oil. We built the billion-dollar embassy and permanent bases around that country because we plan to stay there until the U.S. and our allies have stolen all the oil from Iraq. It was originally estimated that it would take 35 years to suck the oil out of that country, but apparently the oil corporations have come up with an accelerated process, and think they can get it done in 25 years. Note that the Democrats and Obama are just as enthusiastic in supporting the theft of resources from Iraq as were the criminals from the Bush Regime.

Here are some fundamental laws about contracts. In order to have a valid and enforceable contract, you need parties to the contract who have the capacity to enter into the contract. They must, for example, be the actual representatives, legitimate representatives of any nation that they deem to bind by signing the contract. A contract must be entered into freely, without duress. Since the U.S. has occupied Iraq militarily since 2001, and installed a puppet government which represents no one, any contracts entered into between the puppet government and anyone are void and should be rescinded. The U.S. military is pointing a gun at the head of the people of Iraq and telling them to sign contracts giving away all their rights to their own resources, the oil. It's not a contract -- it's an extortion plot being run by a criminal enterprise. The U.S. military is the muscle, the oil corporations are the Godfathers.

A.P. 11/5/09: "A consortium grouping U.S. and European oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday signed a $50 billion deal to develop one of Iraq's most prized oil fields, as the OPEC nation looks to revamp its battered energy sector." [NOTE: they call Iraq an "OPEC" nation as if to define Iraq as being part of some powerful consortium that made Americans wait in gas lines 40 years ago. They talk about Iraq wanting this contract to help revamp its "battered energy sector," but fail to mention the fact that the U.S., at the direction of the oil corporations, is who battered the oil fields in the first place, put an embargo on any activity, routinely engaged in flyovers and bombing at random to prevent Iraq from developing and selling its own oil.]

"The deal to develop the 8.6 billion West Qurna Stage 1 field is the third such agreement in less than a week between a foreign oil consortium and Iraq, which sorely needs foreign company expertise and funding to revive an oil sector hammered by years of neglect, sanctions and, most recently sabotage. [They don't need foreign company expertise. They need foreigners to get the heck out of their country. Note the same old theme that those dark-skinned folks in the third world need our "help" in developing their own resources. It's like saying that the Africans need the white European criminal diamond syndicates to "help" "develop" the diamonds of Africa by stealing them from the mines, and killing any African worker who steps out of line. The fact is that the oil corporations have an official policy of failing to hire local people and train them to run the oil business. Do you know why so many foreigners live in Saudi Arabia, in those barricaded Western-style cities, working in the oil industry, while Saudi Arabia has a very high unemployment rate among its educated people? Because the oil corporations do not want the local "natives" to know how to run the business, because if they did, they'd throw the foreigners out].

It's a 20-year contract with the oil corporations having an option to extend it for another 5. The oil corporations will take most of the money from the oil business, and pay the balance in bribes and kick-backs to the puppet government, with probably a few pennies running downhill to the starving Iraqis living in the rubble created by the oil corporations in the first place. What change, Obama?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110501375.html

How About A Prisoner Exchange? We Turn Over 23 Convicted Felon Terrorist CIA Agents, and Europe Gives Us A 76-Year-Old Man Guilty Of Consensual Sex.

We all thought that the election of Barack Obama would lead to the redemption of our nation, lead our country to repudiate the international terrorism, murder, kidnapping and theft waged by the Bush Criminal Cartel. We expected Obama to bring about a new age, one in which his administration would be dedicated to the pursuit of justice, to demand an accounting and reparations for victims, seize assets from the criminals, hold public hearings and indict those against whom there was sufficient evidence, re-establish decent relationships with other nations. End these illegal wars, stop the kidnapping, torture, and murder which had become part of the official policy of the Bush Regime.

Man, what were we drinking a year ago? Because in the harsh light of morning, one year down the road, it looks to me like we're living in the same old corrupt seedy joint that we occupied in 2008.

Our legal system is a disgrace. Where is the prosecution of the criminals who have started illegal wars, brought about the murder of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people? Where is the prosecution of the Wall Street criminals who have stolen everything from the public? How can "our" politicians take bribes from Wall Street, and pretend to be honest? How sickening is this whole system? Why did Eric Holder refuse to prosecute the Aipac spies and instead let them walk free? Why is Bernie Madoff the only criminal from Wall Street who's in prison, and why are the rest of them allowed to continue to rape and pillage? What is our "Justice" system doing? What's really going on?

Well, sadly, the only real news we've heard lately about "justice" in this country is that the U.S. has demanded that Switzerland arrest a 76-year-old man based on a plea bargain he made, 32 years ago, to consensual sex with a minor. Is this really the best we've got?

Roman Polanski is an internationally-renowned filmmaker. He began his live as a young man in the Krakow Ghetto created by the Nazis to isolate the Jews before sending them off to be slaughtered. He escaped the ghetto and was raised secretly by a Polish Catholic family, who claimed he was their child. In later years he went to film school and became an accomplished filmmaker in Europe.

His first big hit in the U.S. was Rosemary's Baby, followed in later years by Chinatown, Death and the Maiden, and The Pianist. His total body of work is too lengthy to list here, and I'm only mentioning a few that had widespread distribution within the U.S.

In 1969, Polanski's pregnant wife Sharon Tate was butchered by the Charlie Manson cult.

In 1977, Polanski was arrested based on charges that while he was at a Hollywood party, he had given drugs and alcohol to a 13-year-old, and had sexual intercourse with her. He negotiated a plea bargain, but someone later repudiated it and he fled the country rather than face an extended period of imprisonment. This was consensual sex. Nobody claimed it was forcible rape.


For the past 32 years, Polanski has lived his life lawfully, working in his field as a filmmaker in Europe. Recently some people made a documentary, apparently in an effort to clear his name in connection with the 1977 incident. Apparently Polanski or some of his supporters claim that he only entered into the plea bargain based upon the understanding and agreement that he would be given a minimum sentence -- perhaps time served. This is generally the way it works. But somebody in L.A. -- perhaps a judge -- decided to repudiate the agreement at the last minute, and wanted to send Polanski to prison for a lengthy term. That's why Polanski fled the country. Or at least that is someone's version of what happened.

I support statutory rape laws. We should have some age -- I think 18 is fair -- that is hands-off to everyone. Of course if the sexual partner is also under 18, the laws should not apply. But all the over-18-year-old (usually) men out there should be very careful to check ID and, better yet, don't just pick some young girl and have sex with her without getting to know a little about her, to make sure she's old enough to be a consenting partner. So I support the laws. But I don't like judges who repudiate plea agreements at the last minute, because that's not fair. Assuming that's what happened.

So, somebody gets their panties in a wad about Polanski trying to clear his name, and the U.S. government gets involved and asks Switzerland to arrest Polanski. Of all the terrorists and criminals wandering around the U.S. freely, in the open -- by which I mean most of the people who worked in the Bush administration -- the U.S. government instead decides to go after a 76-year-old filmmaker based upon a "crime" of consensual sex with a minor that occurred 32 years ago. Give me an F-ing break.

But our government is insistent to Switzerland: Turn Him Over. Give Us That Prisoner. So Polanski shows up for the Zurich film festival, and ends up cuffed and thrown in jail. The U.S. government is demanding that Switzerland turn that "criminal" Polanski over to us. I suppose once we get him, he'll be hooded, sent to Guantanamo, beaten, tortured, locked in a cage 24 hours/day, and left to die. Or is that only for the Muslims?

Fast forward a few weeks to see the U.S. engage in disgusting hypocrisy when the shoe is on the other foot. A few years ago, some CIA thugs kidnapped a man in Italy, took him to Egypt and left him to be tortured and brutalized based upon the fact that he was a Muslim. Or, in the CIA parlance, a "suspected terrorist." A court in Italy indicted the CIA thugs and convicted them in abstentia of, among other crimes, kidnapping. They are convicted felons. The CIA agents refused to appear in Italy for their trial and apparently are hiding out in the U.S., with full protection by the U.S. government. All the press in the U.S. is reporting that it is "unlikely" any of these CIA agents will ever "do time." But why?

Why would Roman Polanski be hunted through the international corridors of film festivals to be drug in chains back to the U.S., presumably to be shut away in Attica or Guantanamo for the rest of his life based on having consensual sex with a minor? But CIA thugs who are convicted felons, who conspired to and did kidnap and cause great bodily harm, participated in attempted murder, are given the full protection of the U.S. government which refuses to arrest them and turn them over to Italy to be thrown in prison, which is where they belong because they are criminals.

The CIA agents are criminals. They have engaged in kidnapping, torture, murder, and international drug running. They work for the biggest criminal enterprise in the world: The United States of America. And because of that, they can do anything they want, kidnap anyone, brutalize, torture, and murder anyone they want anywhere they want, without consequences.

Those CIA thugs should be turned over to Italy to serve out the rest of their lives in Italian prisons. After all, if our government can get so excited about a 76-year-old man who, 30 years ago had consensual sex with a minor, then somebody inside the Obama administration should manage to get a little bit excited about convicted kidnappers and felons walking freely in our communities. Aren't these CIA agents terrorists? They sure terrorized the guy from Italy that they kidnapped. I thought we didn't like the terrorists, but it turns out that we employ them.

If nothing else, maybe we can negotiate one of those prisoner exchanges. We turn over the 23 convicted felon CIA agents who kidnapped and almost killed some poor guy in exchange for Switzerland giving us a 76-year-old movie guy. Maybe we can call in the thugs and murderers of Blackwater to arrange for armed transport of the dangerous movie dude. Make sure he doesn't escape and return to making movies.



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-italy-verdict5-2009nov05,0,2106586.story

Godzilla for MVP

Godzilla is a Japanese giant monster that first appeared in popular Japanese culture in a film of the same name released in 1954. Some believe that the movie monster represented a post-nuclear mutation, the symbol of the threat of the devastating destruction caused by the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over time, the monster has become one of the most world-wide popular and recognized symbols of modern Japanese popular culture. Starting in films as a threatening and dangerous creature, he eventually softened in later films, taking on heroic characteristics, and became the star of comic books as well as a series of films. He even got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hideki Matsui is a major league baseball player who plays for the New York Yankees, currently as designated hitter. He began his career playing in Japan in their major leagues, and became a Yankee in 2003. He has played an invaluable role in this year's World Series, and deserves to be named MVP. His nickname is Godzilla because of his powerful hitting, which has been on display in the World Series in spectacular fashion.


A-Rod is the choice of some because he finally got a hit. No, in fairness, he's turned in a humanoid performance at all levels. Not only has he played well, but his press interviews have risen to the level of what should be expected of a team player and a professional. He praises the talent of the opposing team, deflects the complements to other members of his own team, and responds to requests for future predictions with the noncommittal response that we will play each game as it comes. But he's no Godzilla. This may be Matsui's last year as a Yankee, and I hope he gets MVP.

Besides, A-Rod is finally going to be a bride, not just the bridesmaid, finally getting a ring on his finger. That should keep him happy for awhile. Of course Derek Jeter will have 5? World Series rings if things go well in this game 6, and it's finished out with a Yankee win. Pettite went up against god (Pedro Martinez) tonight, and both are great warriors, always a pleasure to watch, even when they are clearly exhausted.

Congratulations to the New York Yankees and Joe Girardi for what looks likely to be another World Series win for the Yankees, but the first with Girardi as the manager. (As I write, Philadelpha has 6 more outs to make 4 runs to tie it, and although anything can happen, I don't think this is going to be their year). But congratulations to Philadelphia too for being the National League Pennant winners.

Just wait'll next year when the Dodgers and Yankees are in the World Series -- now that will be some baseball.

Democrats Lose Elections. Wake Up Little Susie, The Party's Over.

Imagine working in the media right now. Every single time they check their e-mail, they're wondering if they'll find a pink-slip with their name on it. The entire profession is being thrown out of work, replaced by pornographic-spewing paranoid schizophrenic rent-boys working at Rupert Murdoch's whore house. No wonder the media is so desperate to try to increase public interest that they resort to whatever worked last: Elections!

So we've seen much coverage in recent weeks about these "critical" elections taking place "around the country" (not really) and pundits talking endlessly about whether the election results will signal whether Obama and the Democrats are succeeding or failing in keeping the public's loyalty. Much like the daily polls that we are fed telling us how much the public has been deceived and manipulated by the corporations. Example: do you favor affordable healthcare? 67% say no. Then the politicians say: Well, what can we do, the public doesn't want it. What a con they've got going between the corporate PR system, Rupert Murdoch's whorehouse, and the other one in D.C.

What elections were being held? Pardon everyone if you failed to notice. A dog catcher here, commissioner of elections there, school superintendent in some other place. Do any of these people have the power or authority to get a national healthcare system for Americans, to end these illegal wars, to invest in our own country and create good paying jobs? No. Not at all. But we see the governor of Virginia and New Jersey moved from the D column to the R column. Is this significant? Who knows. Who cares?

I suspect the Democrats will claim that because of these "disappointing" election results, they will have to do even less than they have already done, and since they've done nothing, that's a real challenge. You know, bi-partisanship and all. They pretend that they want the Republicans' support, but only 20% of the public is Republican. The Democratic leadership is ignoring the Democratic voters, their own voters, the progressives, the people who elected them.

Here's my advice to the Democrats: Wake up little Susie, the party's over.

We already heard one of the Democratic leaders in Congress say that a vote on a healthcare system is unlikely by the end of the year. Why? Just vote on the pending proposals for medicare for all. Or just implement the same type of system they have for national healthcare in Israel. Get a xerox copy of it and vote "yes." They don't even have to do any real work, because other countries already have the blueprint for how to make it work.

Take Israel, for example. Doesn't everyone in Congress love Israel, or at least love all the money they get from Aipac, love the Israeli program of genocide against the Palestinians? If Congress loves Israel so much, why don't they just adopt for Americans the same national healthcare program that Israel provides to its own people? Which, by the way, includes dental for the kids. I think we should have dental for everyone, since it now is being shown that dental care is related to many serious health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

But let's just start with free flu shots. Do you understand that there is a deadly pandemic that could kill millions of people, and our own government refuses to get vaccines and provide them free of charge to all American citizens? Why do they hate us so much?

The Democrats should not only lose the next election, they should be disbanded, their leadership thrown into prison or at least have their heads shaved and be sent into exile. Honestly, what else do they deserve? They had a huge percentage of the public out raising money, donating, campaigning to get them in charge. Then we have a strong majority in the Senate and House, control of the white house and many of the States. The Republicans are down to 20% of the population.

What have the Democrats done with this overwhelming public mandate for change? They’ve used their dominance to solicit bribes from the big corporations, wall street, and all the rich people in the country, to enrich themselves and ensure that they can continue to buy their position in future elections. They have conducted what can only be described as shake-down operations of every major financial organization involved in healthcare. Obama holds secret meetings with the insurance companies, promises not to pass single-payer or medicare for all, and in return the insurance companies pay huge bribes to the Democratic party. Repeat the same scenario with the doctors’ groups, the drug dealers, the hospital owners.

What have the Democrats done for the public to “reform” healthcare? If they compel 40 million Americans to buy health insurance, that will be another $50 Billion a year (per Kucinich) or up to $200 Billion a year (my calculations) stolen from the public and given to the Medical Industry, to the insurance companies, to the doctors, to the hospitals. What do I get out of this “reform?” Not a thing.

What have the Democrats done to create jobs for the unemployed? Nothing. What have they done to end these illegal wars in the middle east? Nothing. What have they done to rescind the Bush/Cheney evisceration of the Constitution? Nothing. What have they done to bring to justice those who started these illegal wars, those who have engaged in a program of kidnapping, torture, and murder? Nothing. Any efforts to indict, prosecute, imprison the Wall Street criminals who have stolen our money, to seize their assets and really save the country and the world? Nope. The Democrats are too busy collecting “donations” from Wall Street to enforce any laws.

As far as I’m concerned, a lifelong Democrat, I will not vote Democrat next year, or maybe ever again. I would never vote for a Republican, but I’ll either vote for a progressive independent or not vote at all. Something I’ve never done in my life. But these Democrats have convinced me there is no point in voting, the parties are essentially the same. Corrupt.

Day Of The Dead: Pere Lachaise, Paris.

Paris has a beautiful cemetery named Pere Lachaise. It's like an amazing park, vast, so large that its sections are divided up by cobble-stoned streets with street signs on poles. It is beautifully maintained with green grass, flowers.


Quite astonishing sculptures dot the landscape. But it's a park in which the best tables, the sunnier spots on the lawn, the exactly right seat to see the sunset or rise or smell the blooming flowers is reserved for the dead.

The dead who reside in Pere Lachaise include such notable Parisians and Lovers of Paris as Edith Piaf, Chopin, Bizet, Balzac, Rossini, James de Rothschild and Oscar Wilde. Because of the oddity of modern times, the best-known plot holds the body of Jim Morrison of the rock group, The Doors. It's so beautiful, in such an odd way.

It makes me wonder why France, a relatively small nation, can create such wonderful public spaces for their residents, while our own corporate-controlled government at best begrudgingly forces a tract home developer to set aside a piece of dirt with some sod, and call that a "park." Oh well -- we could learn a thing or two from the French about life.