Hugh Thompson- Hero, Role Model, Rebel

Talk about the ultimate unholy trio of overused, overrated buzz words in existence- made only the worse (if humanly possible) by using them in tandem! Yet, there is no question that Hugh Thompson owns the whole lot in every way imaginable for the actions he executed one insanely murderous day in Viet Nam. Namely, it was his direct intervention that prevented even more people from being butchered that infamous afternoon in 1968 at a hamlet called My Lai. And it was his basic sense of common decency that ignited his moral outrage into action- not the wanton blood lust of a rampaging Rambo, but the righteous indignation that allows someone to assume the role of one who saves lives, no matter the cost.

Thompson was the man responsible for turning US arms in the direction of... US troops, and threatening to shoot them down should they advance to kill one more baby, one more innocent human being. With the temporary cessation of the slaughter, he then went about rescuing whoever was still alive, reporting what he had seen, and in so doing so, possibly saving countless other innocent lives in similar operations to come.

He received many a death threat (and many a dead animal on his doorstep) for his courage to speak out; and his partner revealed that his four chopper crashes in the following two months after My Lai may have not all been attributable to the Viet Cong. Ironically, it was Thompson who proved that at least some Americans were, in fact, still the good guys- by his ability to think beyond the myopic xenophobia of "My country, right or wrong," by his willingness to call out Nazi atrocities, no matter who conducted them. Rather than shirk from a showdown with authority, as had innumerable others who diligently murdered with military approval (and dutifully remained silent)- he made it live up to its stated moral obligation.

This humble helicopter pilot, who a whole nation should look up to with pride, has no streets or schools, stadiums or ships named after him, there are no statues standing nobly in his honor. And Clint Eastwood will never have the balls to make a movie about him- but he damn well should, someone should...

Laetrile- Pure Quackery (Right?)

That's certainly what we've been told since the... seventies- when I last heard the word. But what if, what if... there really is something to it (and it's just too cheap to make an outrageous profit from)?

UPDATE: Interesting rebuttal...  (via Minnesotastan @ TYWKIWDBI)

The absolute vitriol in the rebuttal above could alone kill the most virulent of cancer cells! 

I'm not the biggest fan of Big Pharma for sure, but I don't have a particular dog in this fight. Laetrile could be complete quackery, or there could be something there. And it's also very interesting, that the major study this rebuttal quotes (the only one done on humans), was on advanced stage cancer patients- exactly what even Laetrile proponents say it is ineffective against (save for those south of the border anxious to make an American $).

I'm always particularly amused when the scientific establishment (ie- government) attempts to put down, ridicule and disavow anything "alternative" not by producing conclusive scientific evidence (the very hallmark of their existence), but by in turn putting out their own focused, emotional and anecdotal appeals and conjecture based solely on their reputation and beliefs (eg- nothing like dismissing UFO's with... swamp gas).

Hypocrisy Unbridled and Unabated

Not only did real spies who stole and sold secrets to the enemy get lighter sentences than Bradley Manning (who attempted to sell nothing to no one), it's amazing (and thoroughly unreported) how the US protects known terrorists... plane bombing, passenger killing terrorists!

Hypocrisy Unbound (cont.)

Obama's hypocrisy goes from murderously shameful, to... downright petty.

Fireworks!

Like errant children denying their guilt when caught red handed with fireworks, so go our official investigative agencies when it involves those close to their realm. 

The video below concerning TWA Fl# 800 documents a step by step accounting of how government agencies supposedly under public scrutiny can nevertheless coerce witnesses, subvert investigatory procedures, and suppress and alter facts involving investigations where the evidence is readily available, and explainable. And yet, people continue to insist that the government could never keep a secret as large as UFO's under wraps.

Ask Mr. Snowden about what does, and (and more importantly, these days) doesn't happen when the truth gets out. Then ask why so few dare to risk it all. Does it really take any stretch of the imagination as to what investigative and governmental abuses and aberrations can occur concerning true phenomena when not under the microscope of the public eye? Law enforcement that threatens both livelihood (careers, pensions, grants) and well being (convenient "accidents"), together with a media both complacent and complicit (automatic ridicule, condemnation or avoidance): the perfect marriage, the perfect nightmare.

FBI Investigator: "No, you didn't see that."

God Bless Edward Snowdon

"I had been looking for leaders, but I realised that leadership is about being the first to act."    

-- Edward Snowdon

He had it all. He could have easily kept his well paying job, his beautiful beyond words girl friend, and his successful lifestyle and career. No one ever threatened him, no one ever pressured him in the slightest, and there was certainly no prize to be had when all was said and done. He didn't have to do anything but continue living his rather fortunate life, unscathed and unconcerned- and yet act he did, and for the right reason... not that most people will ever give a flying fuck that he did it for them.

And now he must forever look behind his back for the remainder of his young life, looking back at a life that was once his.

"I will never feel safe," he said. "Things are very difficult for me in all terms, but speaking truth to power is never without risk."

Particularly when  hypocrisy in the realm of power knows no bounds...