King Leopold's Soliloquoy

120 years ago, the Belgian King Leopold II wanted a share of the colonial feast happening across Africa.

At the Berlin Conference (colonial time’s equivalent of the G7 conference) where the Powers conducted ‘orderly’ distribution of rights to the various lands, the British (the superpower of that time) and Americans, against Germany’s protest, ‘gave’ Leopold the right to a piece of land 4 times the size of Germany around the Congo Basin.

The Germans and other European powers were obviously unhappy that their small time neighbour got more than them, to say the least. Leopold being a nephew of Victoria was an obvious consideration.

The British got around the German’s protest on the basis that the area previously occupied mainly by British colonists and under the dominion of an ‘association’ led by Leopold was a ‘de facto state under international law at that time’. Its formation therefore did not need recognition from other states.

The legal argument was for convenience of course. The others did not give in to that but Britain’s sheer power. Sounds like Iraq in the 21st century?

And to keep the French quiet, Leopold signed a treaty to give France ‘first right of preference’ to that property in event the ‘association alienated the natives’.

Leopold gave his ‘fiefdom’ a nice sounding name of Congo Free State, and publicly declared his mission was to free its people from slavery and promote free trade.

The reality as history recorded was of course somewhat different. There were riches to be extracted from Congo the same way it was from the other colonies, and the colonists were never accepted by the natives (otherwise known as insurgents and terrorists in the 21st century).

To ‘run’ the new state Leopold reportedly made use of British and African mercenaries (21st century Bushite term is 'security contractors') the most famous of which included one called Stanley (where Stanley Falls got its name) and another called Rhodes (where old Rhodesia, present day Zimbabwe, got its).

In the 25 years that ‘Congo Free State’ existed, 5 to 15 million out of the 11 to 30 million of the natives were killed – I guess the natives are not quite important enough for them to bother to account accurately (the population of present Belgium is 10 million).

Apparently (only if you believe this), this was not public knowledge for that long (by the way to present day fools, that period is 120 years) because the atrocities were not reported in the press because King Leopold reportedly ‘bought’ them off (i.e. paid them to keep quiet).

As the story went, the world only knew about Leopold’s big lie when a clerk working for a trading firm named Morel noticed that ship manifests from the ‘free state’ had goods going only one way i.e. goods like rubber, ivory and precious materials were shipped in large quantities to Europe but nothing flowed back (so much about free trade).

Some reports had it that Morel was backed by certain Liverpool traders that were left out of the lucrative trades and therefore wanted to spoil it. Hah, greed can save the world...

In his fight to gather public support for his mission to ‘expose’ Leopold’s lie, Morel asked Mark Twain for support resulting in the work known as King Leopold’s Soliloquy. Mark Twain was then already a renowned anti-imperialist fighting among others the US colonization of Philippines (only the first US colonial occupation outside the Americas).

For some reason, this work was refused publication by his publisher (you can try guessing why).
The beginning of Mark Twain’s work had Leopold holding to his Bible pronouncing his great holy endeavor of ‘saving’ the Congolese.

The inspiration for that was probably drawn from Leopold’s speech at the Berlin Conference where he said that the setup of the new state was “for the propagation of civilisation among the peoples of the Congo region by means of scientific exploration, legal trade and war against the 'Arabic' slave traders…To open to civilisation the only part of our globe which it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness which hangs over entire peoples, is, I dare say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress."

So it seems that every century or so a new set of Leopold-like idiots would think they are the chosen ones out on a crusade. My 21st century name for them is Bush-like idiots - different name, same regenerate idiots.

Now, if we change a few names, actors and terms/notions here and there, the above story will be not unlike what is happening in places like Iraq today.

The powerful will occupy someone else’s land using notions like freedom, free trade and democracy, but in reality does it with the intent to extract its riches. Any opposition to that are labeled anything pest-like from insurgents to terrorists, and brushed aside by sheer force applied with the help of both mercenaries and colluding locals.

At the same time the seemingly noble notions that are their fronts are hyped up by so-called free press and publishers in the hope that they can convince enough foolhardy ones amongst and beyond them of the greatness of their endeavors for them to get away with it as long as they can.

In this way, an entire people or group of people and nations (like the present day Allies in Iraq) end up sharing the stolen riches brought home to a 'thieves paradise' they sometimes like to think is the result of the greatness of either their intellect, or system of government or belief.

The result of such a way of living is at best the hanging out of a few scapegoats as self-repentance once internal or external revulsion from the truth and sheer atrocity of their acts become all too obvious to hide. Llike poor Leopold who was blamed for the whole Congo Free State thing when in fact many like the British, French and of course Belgians were also key beneficiaries.

At worst, it results in disastrous wars with those powerful enough to fight them face to face for a share of the same riches as in the great wars of the last century – for many present day fools Germany not getting their ‘fair’ share in places like Congo is not a reason for those wars, it was merely evil Hitler-likes.

But, as always, it is the small guys that suffer most like the proverbial ants among fighting elephants.

It is they whose livelihood will be taken away and who will have to fight with whatever means at their disposal. To the ‘Powers’ they are like ants to the elephants – mere pests whose various other similar pest-like names (terrorists, insurgents etc.) are but convenient labels for the excuse to terminate them large scale without qualms, and whose deaths in the millions can be conveniently consigned to some corners of history where the fools of the world don’t venture.

Phantom Fury

The Americans call their latest effort at eliminating opposition in Fallujah to their occupation of Iraq operation 'Phantom Fury'. These may be reasons for that name:

1. This is another round of destruction based on the fictitious excuse of eliminating terrorists

2. the Bush-like idiots are genuinely furious at being opposed and they wanted a phantom excuse to kill some one

3. they hope that any anger they generate from this will disappear into thin air and they can get away with it another time

4. they genuinely think that the opposition is a bunch of misled idiots whose fury towards them are unjustified.

Phantomise it any which way you like, but may be these idiots really think the world is as simple as their religion teaches: they are good and all that's against them or react to what they do are evil, and they can do anything they like as theirs is a forgiving God and all they have to do is ask for forgiveness. Supreme idiots of a phantom world indeed.

Oh the phantom of Osama, may thee appear again for such idiots only understand your kind....

The History & Dynamics of Oil

http://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/~cowen/~GEL115/115CH13oil.html

Very good article about oil and hints on what happened around the world the last century like
- why Russia wants control of Chechya and Central Asia
- why Iraq whacked Kuwait
- why Libya is made an 'outcast'
- why China, Vietnam etc. wants the Spratlys
- why Venezuela claims America has a hand in its political turmoil
- why Bush whacks Iraq and Afghanistan
- why he wants to whack Iran
- why Australia 'saved' Timor
- how 'shares' of profits can be re-distributed by the powerful once they install rulers of their choice

The powerful manipulates everything/anything they can to their benefit. The world is a free market only to fools who know nothing of history and how things really work.

Defining Moments

American Presidential Result due Tonight...

Apparently, idiot Bush entered politics after he was ‘saved’ from all his failures by a certain evangelist who made millions giving cheap surmons on TV. Since then he reportedly believed that he was chosen by God to do great things not just for America but the world. That is nothing new as we hear of such idiots every once a while all round the world after they have read a certain chapter in a certain book about ‘chosen people’. But what is different about idiot Bush is he soon got to lay his hands on many of the huge firepower that science had created, and that is worth someone doing something about it.

One of the biggest state where large numbers of Bush-like idiots are found is Texas which was where Bush began fulfilling his ‘calling’ by winning the governorship. He then went on to ‘define’ what Michael Moore called (roughly) a fictitious time where fictitious election results elect a fictitious president who starts fictitious wars using fictitious reasons.

Of course, Michael Moore cannot be fully correct. Yes, those Bush-like idiots cheated in Florida big time. But he also won in many other states like Texas which means that significant numbers of Americans wanted him to be there along with all the ‘fictions’.

But that is not new. Ever since the ‘great wars’ of the last century where making and selling war materiel is big business, that country had been hijacked by what Eisenhower famously called the ‘military industrial complex’ to wage war around the world based on a mix of fictitious concepts ranging from ‘free market’ to ‘freedom’ to ‘yellow threat’ in China, Korea and Vietnam to ‘evil empires’ from Central America to Africa to Middle East.

In the meantime, they do not just ignore but arrogantly refuse to work with the rest of the world on real challenges like global pollution, stability of the global financial system, poverty and hunger.

On top of that, every day we hear them brag about how great the American system and dream is and why everyone around the world should follow them.

In their fictional democracy where their choice of presidents can only come from two organizations, they claim that only their system can produce what people want & deserve.

Indeed the world should take them seriously and hence must make them accountable for everything they choose including their presidents and the ‘fictions’ they use to perpetuate the very real disasters we witness.

That is why today is such a defining moment for the world. You see, great idiots hijacking great inventions of science and reason like Bush can also produce defining moments of history.

And why I have 2 very different hopes depending on the outcome of today’s election.

One is the hope that Kerry will win simply because he has yet to proof as idiotic as Bush, and reason, humility and moderation (less greed) may have a chance to prevail.

The other is a much more sinister hope that if idiot Bush wins someone somewhere in the world will not adopt the Vietnamese’s Buddhist outlook where wallops are taken quietly at home and the plight accepted as fate.

There are many things the world can do if we think about it but one is and has to be to give to them what they do unto others.

The 100,000 families in Iraq which had lost someone they love in one year (that must surely beat Saddam Hussein's records), and the countless others in Afghanistan and elsewhere do not subscribe to the 6,000,000 dead Vietnamese’s concept of fate. Their belief is equally powerful and arrogant as that of idiot Bush which explains why they had been going at each other since about 500 years after an idiot by the name of Paul hijacked the Roman empire for purposes not unlike what idiot Bush and his TV evangelist is doing to America today.

If tonight is a defining moment in history, it can be one where hope, reason and decency prevails or one where the most sinister of actions will be taken to put all of God’s idiotic creations in their rightful place.

Many of us can only hope for the less stupid outcome. But even in the fictitious stories contained in the fictitious book of the Bush-like idiots, even the Gods can be crazily vengeful. They have no qualms about wiping out their entire creation by flood just to proof a point.

See The Story of Nolah http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_cckplanetblog_archive.html

So, what is the big deal with Osama blowing away a few buildings? At least, this guy has the decency to be honest with why he did it. No high-horse cowboy bullshit about the likes of 'freeing' others by killing their loved ones.