Oliver Stone's New Film, "South Of The Border."

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Oliver Stone's new film, "South of the Border," is being released this week. It is about Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and the exciting changes going on in South America as that region tries to throw off the bootheel of the United States. If you would like to see the movie, remind your local theatre to book it.

Music Worth A Listen.

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(Stan Getz - Autumn Leaves)



(Charlie Rouse - When Sunny Gets Blue)



(Miles Davis - Summertime)



(Paula West - Fly Me To The Moon)



(Miles Davis Quartet - My Funny Valentine)



(Indiana Nomma - Night and Day)



(Chet Baker - Tenderly)



(Billie Holiday - The Man I Love)



(Miles Davis Sextet - Some Day My Prince Will Come)



(Sarah Vaughan - September Song)



(Nat King Cole - The Very Thought Of You)



(Cannonball Adderly and Miles Davis - Autumn Leaves)



(Al Haig - Isn't It Romantic)

Orly Taitz and Reille Hunter: Separated At Birth? You Decide.

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Orly Taitz is an insane lunatic tea-bagger Republican Birther Lawyer who just tried to run for some office in California and lost. She's pretty nuts.

And Reille Hunger is the skanky 40-something woman who had sex with John Edwards and got pregnant (never heard of birth control?) then claimed she had to keep the baby because it had magical powers, all to the tune of millions of dollars she has received for -- having sex with a married man. Then she had sexy photos taken of herself for a magazine, lolling in bed, and just happened to mention that she wasn't wearing any "panties."

Where do these women come from? And why is it they are so successful? People just throw money at them. Is it the peroxide in their hair? Is it the orange they wear? Does the color orange attract money?

And more importantly, do you notice anything about these two women? They could be sisters they look so much alike.

(Orly Taitz -- crazed Republican lunatic birther-lady in Orange blouse)


(Rielle Hunter, 40-something skank who had sex with a married man but forgot about birth control -- oops -- also wearing orange).

I'll bet both of these ladies is worth several million dollars. For what?

I know this much. Friday is makeover day. I'm going to peroxide my hair to the palest shade of blonde, and I'm going to buy an orange blouse, an orange sweater, and an orange T-shirt. I'll let you know if it brings money my way. Or at least scandal.

June 6, 1944: D-Day

(Americans in England waiting for D-Day).

Sixty-six years ago, on June 6, 1944, the allied nations invaded France on D-Day to begin taking Europe back from the Nazis.
The Allied forces involved in D-Day mostly were Americans, English, and Canadians. The men, weapons, tanks, and ships were all gathered in England in anticipation of crossing the English Channel and landing on the coast of France. The Germans knew that the Allies would come by ship, and knew they would come across the English Channel. They did not know when the attack would take place, and did not know exactly where it would take place.

There were months of decoy operations by the British to try to fool the Germans into thinking the landing would come from the North. Once the preparations were completed, the Allies waited on a day by day basis, controlled by the weather. They could not launch the attack if the seas were too rough, or if there were major storms anticipated. So they waited. And the Germans waited on the coast of France, which they had fortified with concrete and steel bunkers and cannons.
The Landing forces included gliders that were flown to France then released, gliding to the ground; paratroopers who were flown into France then dropped into areas where the Allies hoped the German presence would not be too concentrated. These airborne drops were made to have people in France in advance of the coastal landing. The Allies knew it was imperative to quickly take out the communications lines as well as blow up some bridges and prevent the Germans from communicating to Berlin that the invasion had begun and reinforcements were needed.

On June 6, 1944, the public was briefly advised that the invasion had begun: "Under command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France." The first ships and men hit the beaches of Normandy at 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944.

There were 156,000 troops landed in France on D-Day, 73,000 from the U.S.. In addition to the airborne troops who landed by gliders and parachutes, the seaborne troops landed on the beaches in Normandy whose names became familiar to generations who followed: Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno, and Sword Beach. The allied aircraft flew almost 15,000 sorties that day.

The name of the naval part of the operation on D-Day was Operation Neptune. It included almost 7000 vessels consisting of naval combat ships, landing ships and landing craft, ancillary craft, and merchant vessels. Almost 200,000 personnel worked in the Operation Neptune part of the D-Day operation.
There is no "official" casualty number for D-Day because of the chaos of the invasion. But the unofficial figure is that 10,000 members of the allied invading forces died on D-Day. However, recent studies suggest the numbers may have been much higher. In addition, 24 warships and 35 merchant or auxiliary ships were sunk in June of 1944 in connection with D-Day.
From June 6, 1944 through the end of August, over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing in connection with the Allied advances after D-Day. This figure includes over 200,000 Allied casualties. Roughly 200,000 German troops were killed or wounded, and 200,000 Germans were taken as prisoners of war.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were also killed on D-Day in the Allied bombing.

Seventy (70) Million people were killed during World War II.
http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/faq.htm

When you look at photos of World War II, or newsreels, there is an obvious respect for the common men and women working and fighting to stop the Nazis, working together, as allies, to protect our world. Not worship, not the nonsense that we hear from the politicians about the military -- just respect for the simple men and women making sacrifices and putting their lives on their line out of a sense of duty to others.
It seems like this may have been the last time that we all were part of a team, working together, united against the clear evil of the Fascist governments of Germany, Japan and Italy. There was a very brief period after World War II when it seemed like our politicians and business leaders acknowledged that American men and women deserve to have jobs, education for their kids, nice communities and homes, living wages, so they created programs and policies to make sure tha happened. No more.
We don't have a team anymore. We have an elite group of incredibly rich people who would steal a lollipop out of the mouth of a child if they thought they could sell it on e-bay, people who see most of us as chumps, clearly not on the same team. These wealthy people have their own team which is made up of the richest people in the world. That's why Daddy Bush was hanging out with the bin Ladens and the Saudi Princes on the morning of 9/11 -- because they're on the same team, and it's not our team. As are Bill Gates, Lloyd Blankfein, Warren Buffett and the Clintons -- not on our team. As are the CEOs of the major corporations, and all the management insiders of Wall Street and the politicians they own.

They're on one team which is not tied to the U.S. or to its people. The entry fee for their team is that you must have hundreds of millions of dollars. We, the working people of the U.S., are on our own team -- but somebody stole our equipment and uniforms, sold our field and the lights, took all the food from our snack bar, stole our cars while we were waiting on the field for the game to start. Now what do we do?

Loch Lomond

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(Loch Lomond)

There is a famous Scottish folk song named Loch Lomond. Loch means lake, or sea inlet, and Loch Lomond is a lake in Scotland. There are different stories about the meaning of the song. The song refers to an uprising in the 1700s against England led by by Bonnie Prince Charlie. The English succeeded in putting down the uprising, and killed many of the rebels who had fought against England.

In one theory, the song refers to one of the rebels who is killed (and he will take the low road, beneath the earth) and one of whom lives and can follow the high road. Another view is that the song is sung by a young girl whose lover fights in the rebellion and dies. Another view is that the English chopped off the heads of the rebels and put them on stakes lining the most frequently-traveled roads, which would be the high road. Love the English. They have such a brutal and bloody history of oppressing people all over the world, yet they act like they are the most mannered folks ever to walk the earth. These rebellions were in the 1700s. A poem was written in the 1800s, and made into the song in the early 1900s.

The song is a favorite through generations, among nations, and to many different musical groups. It has been recorded and performed all over the world, including by the following:

- 1938, Benny Goodman performed the song with Martha Tilton doing the vocal. The audience loved it so much they demanded an encore.

- 1957, Bill Haley and the Comets, an early rock and roll group, performed a popular version which they renamed Rock Lomond.

1976 - Australian rock group AC/DC released their version and began performing it live during their concerts.

1980s - progressive rock group Marillon made their own version of the song and played it in a medley along with other traditional songs.

1995 - The Real McKenzies, a Canadian punk band, included their version of the song in their debut album.

2007 - Runrig, a Scottish folk-rock band, has been performing the song for over 25 years. They had a top ten version of it in 2007 released in connection with an aid for children concert.

- Dan Zane and Natalie Merchant did a version of the song on a Zane album.

- A Serbian band named "Orthodox Celts" recorded their version of the song.

Loch Lomond (Lyrics)

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love will ne-er meet again On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomon'.

O you'll take the high road and I’ll take the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland before you
For me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomon.

Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen
On the steep, steep sides of Ben Lomon
Where in purple hue, the hielan hills we view
And the moon coming out in the gloaming.

(Chorus)

The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping
But the broken heart, it kens nae second spring again
Though the world knows not how we are grieving

Support the Rachel Corrie and Demand an End to the Israeli Siege of the Gaza Strip.

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Let's Use "Extraordinary Rendition" and "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" On All The Management Of BP. And Declare Britain A Terrorist State.

Don't blame Obama for this British Petroleum mess in the Gulf Coast. Blame Cheney and the oil regime of bush-cheney, and the oil corporations that push for offshore oil drilling. I don't think the federal government knows how to solve the problem, so they can't really move in and take over, as some suggest. And just think about it: BP has bribed our politicians in congress to get them to vote to say that no matter what BP does, no matter how awful, it could never be required to pay more than -- I think it's $75 million in damages.

So if the Obama administration pushes BP, tells them to get the job done or get out of the way, why wouldn't BP just say fine, Obama, you take over and we'll leave and go to some other place where we have billions of dollars worth of income coming in. This is a liability for BP at this point in time, and I'll bet everything they are doing is directed by their attorneys, not by their engineers. They will take minimal steps, shrug their shoulders, until finally the federal government steps in and takes over. Just like the federal government stepped in to bail out Wall Street. Just watch.

That's why I would grab BP's top management, use "extroardinary rendition" or kidnapping as it used to be called, stick them in some black hole secret CIA prison, used "enhanced interrogation techniques" until the problem is solved. And declare Britain to be a terrorist nation, then invade them. I never liked the English, anyway. Our government is committed to that method when dealing with those who commit acts of terror on our country. What would you call destroying our ocean then refusing to do anything to try to fix the problem? I call it an act of terrorism, with the oil being the weapon of mass destruction.


We routinely kidnap, torture, and murder people from other countries, people we say are friendly with the terrorists. What could be a worse terrorist attack on our country than what BP has done? Who has caused more damage to the U.S.: Osama bin Laden or BP? Honestly, I think BP wins. Maybe only 10 oil rig workers are dead today, but in the future thousands of people will likely die from the exposure to the chemicals being dumped in that part of the ocean by BP. So why doesn't our government use "extroardinary rendition" on the BP top management, stick them in CIA black holes somewhere until they "talk," because of "enhanced interrogation techniques," and until the fix they problem. Then send drones to London to randomly blow up houses and kill their citizens. Isn't that what we do to "terrorist" nations?

There's another little problem no one's discussing. What happens when the corporations destroy a sufficient part of the ocean, when there are more "dead zones" than live zones? Do we all die? Isn't that the inevitable result of these types of industrial pollution and destruction of the ocean? That we all die? I believe that is correct, that the ocean is necessary for our survival. Everybody has a doomsday scenario in mind of a nuclear war, but what about the doomsday that results from the corporate destruction of our ocean? Gives new meaning to the classic book "On the Beach." Everybody On the Beach will soon be dead.

Why doesn't our government get tough with BP? Why not waterboard their management? Televise it. It could be a pay-per-view special event, raise money to save the birds. I'll tell you the answer, save you some time: the people who run BP are rich powerful white men. They're "our" kind of guys. They are just like the criminals on Wall Street: white powerful rich men who rape, loot, plunder, pillage, and murder, destroying everything in their path. And our government never enforces the law against the rich and powerful. You just watch, most of our politicians have probably taken advantage of this disaster to shake down BP for more money in exchange for the politicians going easy on them.

I say the solution to the BP gulf coast oil spill is extraordinary rendition of their management, and "enhanced interrogation techniques" conducted in some black-hole CIA site until they finally fix the problem. Then bomb England, get some justice for my Irish ancestors. Then seize BP, liquidate its assets, and use the money to build a new green industry in our nation so we can get off of oil. And finally, get serious about electing politicians who refuse to take money from corporations, and who agree to enforce the laws even against the rich and powerful. It is once again true: the rich and powerful can get away with anything in this country, even murder.