Alternative News Websites – Altruistic? – Not Always

For quite some time now I have been getting a very uncomfortable feeling regarding a number of well-known and respected alternative news/opinion websites.

We gravitate toward such sites because we know and understand that almost all mainstream news media outlets are not only specifically agenda driven for the most part; but extremely dangerous.

Not only do they severely limit the information presented to the public at large, they also distort information in such a way that black becomes white and vice versus.  This, as I am sure those who reach further than the mainstream know, has enabled various western governments and other organisations to carry out many heinous acts in our name, because the majority remain ignorant, or completely misinformed.

What I am getting at here, is that we should not automatically assume alternative news/opinion contributor websites do not also have their own agendas; and may not be as benign as one might at first conclude, especially when commentary is included.

One aspect that I think should be considered by anyone accessing alternative news websites, is that what I call the  ‘Big Four’ are first and foremost businesses; and I defy anyone to imply that they are completely non-profit making organisations.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with people who invest a great deal of time and effort into a website of any description receiving financial gain; if only to cover costs,  but it should be noted that whenever money is involved and when financial stability is paramount, self-interest often becomes predominant.

Money and it’s influences play a large role in human behavior and if the paid advertising on some of these sites is anything to go by, then high principles and morality become secondary.

It’s easy enough to state that such site advertising is not endorsed by, nor representative of the views and opinions of the website and it’s contributors; but if such a website is all about informing people of the criminal, amoral state of elitists, governments and others who control our world, whilst at the same time promoting change that could remove the former, then the least one can anticipate is that those responsible for the informing demonstrate a satisfactory moral compass themselves.

Another aspect currently making me feel uncomfortable, is how each of the ‘Big Four’ demonstrate possession of a large Ego; and hence are not open to genuine constructive criticism.  Not only that; I have noted on numerous occasions that any directed criticism by readers or others, no matter how valid, is roundly dismissed out of hand, sometimes ridiculed, often aggressively, if the opinion does not adhere to their own beliefs and values.

Such behaviours also undermine the articles composed by the contributors and based on such responses alone, one has to question the motives of the owners of these websites.  Freud once said, ‘The ego is not master in its own house’.  I feel this is definitely food for thought.

Which leads on to the many childish and egocentric catfights the ‘Big Four indulge in’;  if such websites are altruistically dedicated to informing the public and making us aware of the many deceptions and machinations being carried out in our name, then why all the rivalry and contention?

Seriously, if these website owners are genuinely trying to bring about world change then it matters not who actually supplies the information; as long as it is communicated.  As yet another wise soul once said; ego has no value in the pursuit of truth and freedom.

Taking the above into consideration, I would personally advise caution in donating money to any of these websites, whose requests are constant.  There are plenty of hard-working, alternative news/opinion websites out there that inform us without the drama, without the ego’s and without such a distinct, vested self-interest.

The Rapture And Other Things – Stop Yanking My Chain

There I was; waiting patiently at work for the rapture to begin, thinking wistfully about the usual (no cook) Saturday night Chicken Kebab that I won’t have a chance to eat, nor sadly ever eat again (unless fast food is served in heaven/hell of course).  Well it was a few minutes late already; and one always has to allow for discrepancies in individual clock settings, but woe is me, after all that gearing myself up, saying goodbye to loved ones, making sure there was enough dried cat stuff in the bowl for puss to eat until she could get her fat ass into gear and catch her own food, nothing at all happened.

I have to say I’m really getting sick and fed up with having my chain continuously yanked. There does not seem to be a single day that goes by whereby, we the people are reliably  ‘informed’ by the so-called ‘brightest’ and ‘best’  regarding ‘events’ ; that unfortunately turn out to be a complete crock of shit and it’s really very disappointing you know.

The MET Office told me last week that we would be having a mini heat wave this weekend; so yesterday morning before work I got my shorts out, rustled up the garden chairs ready for an in the garden reading in the sun sort of day, today.   I woke up to much, much lower temps than average for this time of year, sheet rain of an intensity normally experienced in February and bloody hailstones the size of golf balls.  You see where I’m going with this?

Talking about weather, that inveigler, (call me god), Al Gore and his slimy bunch of non-scientists that make up the cabal of lazy racketeers on the IPCC told me that the world was facing a real planetary emergency due to the correlation between CO² and earth temperatures; that when there is more carbon dioxide, the temperature gets warmer and that if we didn’t do something we would ruin the planet.

Al Gore and the IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their movie about how man-made carbon-dioxide emissions were causing run away global warming, and how together we could rise to the challenge and beat this terrible problem; so of course I had to do my bit by agreeing to eventually be taken back to the dark ages; and give them all my money, in the meantime I installed solar panels, which have just been smashed to bits by the hailstones and have not saved any electricity at all I might add because instead of getting warmer, it’s getting colder.

Tony Blair and numerous other consummate liars told me that Saddam Hussein was a very ‘bad man’ and that he and Iraq were complicit in 9/11 and that not only that, Iraq also had these awful weapons of mass destruction that could reach the UK  within 45 minutes and that it was ever so important to make our soldiers invade that country as soon as possible, kill and torture as many civilians as humanly possible and ultimately steal all their resources to make us all safe.  So I thought ‘oh my goodness’ we must stop him and inadvertently facilitated mass murder.

Talking about consummate liars, I was told by the brightest and best recently that unless I bailed out the Bankers we faced global economic collapse; and that it was up to me to give them all my money to ensure that this wouldn’t happen.

I was shocked to the core, so I agreed wholeheartedly to let them use my money and that of my children, future grandchildren and great-grandchildren to paper over the massive cracks, to allow them to continue giving themselves morally bankrupt bonuses, continue with currency betting, not implement any levy on future financial dealings to curb the power of the City, or a Tobin tax, or false wealth accumulations, or yet use the Western stimulus spending  to sustain world infrastructure, nor really change anything; but my government, nor the financial sector elites would ever lie to me, so I mustn’t complain when the paper covering the cracks unravels and there are no jobs, can’t feed my family,  and am subsequently, catapulted into WW3; it’s not their fault.

President Obama told me he had killed that other very ‘bad man’ Osama Bin Laden the other day; so I was very pleased and took to the streets in celebration.  President Obama also told me he had to quickly bury Bin Laden at sea; to ensure that even though he had apparently brought about the deaths of 3000 of US civilians, and even though the US had paraded the bodies of many other ‘bad’ Muslims on TV; and even though President Obama is currently not respecting Muslims in Syria, Libya, Palestine and just about any and every Muslim Country in the Middle East; he had to be buried according to Muslim culture and beliefs out of respect.  I nodded my head and thought what a considerate man President Obama is.

President Obama also told me that he endorsed a major Palestinian demand today for the borders of its future state and told  Israel to accept that it can never have a truly peaceful nation that is based on “permanent occupation.”   I was so happy to hear this; even though President Obama, since taking office, has always been in the bend over and let Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give it to me in the ass with the biggest dildo ever featured in my Ann Summers catalogue, craven unconditional support to Israel, position. I remain in awe of his stance as a bravely consistent president.

I just don’t know how many more disappointments I can take (sigh).

Chilcott Inquiry – Tony Blair and Myra Hindley, or Myra Blair and Tony Hindley?

Where’s the association you may ask?  Well the comparisons are uncanny.

I just finished reading a very accomplished book, written by Carol Ann Lee   titled ‘One Of Your Own, The Life And Death Of Myra Hindley’.

The book is an in-depth study of an infamous British child murderer, which reveals the woman and her crimes in the context of our collective history.

The book illustrates quite clearly to anyone with even the smallest understanding of mental processes and human behaviour that Myra Hindley was a Psychopath.

The author points out that people who commit monstrous acts rarely look any different from the rest of humanity, but what sets them apart are their choices, acts of appalling cruelty and violence.

Everyone reviled this child murderer; apart from a few easily manipulated elites, who along with Hindley spent many years and a great deal of money telling the world she was misunderstood and  justifying her behaviour.

 

 

Tony Blair is also a psychopath; responsible for the murder of many children, the difference being that the dead children were not British, but Iraqi .  The board of the Chilcott Inquiry could be construed as easily manipulated elites setting the stage and enabling Tony Blair to tell the world he is misunderstood, whilst justifying his behaviour.

Hindley and Blair both displayed a total lack of conscience, along with an ongoing psychological coldness without human warmth, or emotion, in light of their crimes; both refused to co-operate with authorities when questioned regarding the parts they played.  Hindley was; and Blair is, a consummate Actor.

Myra Hindley was continually depicted as a victim, whom her defenders believed was under the spell of her partner in crime, the infamous Ian Brady.

Tony Blair also sees himself as a victim; albeit for different reasons, but many of his defenders believe he was also under the spell of his infamous partner in crime, George Bush.

Hindley was Catholic, who felt secure in the knowledge that her faith and her feigned remorse meant her redemption, regardless of the fact that she continued to guilefully lie about her involvement in the deaths of three of the five Moor’s murder victims for many, many years and remained indifferent to the suffering of the families of her victims.

Blair is also a Catholic, who also feels secure in the knowledge that his faith means his redemption; regardless of the fact that he continues to guilefully lie about his involvement in the premeditated murder of many, many children.  Blair also displays a complete indifference to the suffering of the families of his victims.  Furthermore Blair even stated in an emphatic manner, (which implied God’s requisite) that God would judge whether he was right to send British troops to Iraq, resulting in the murder of thousands of children.

Hindley and Blair both wrote memoirs, both of which were wholly self-absorbed, displayed a profound ability to manipulate and extrapolated their monumental egotism.

Blair and Hindley both blamed others for their decision to partake in the murder of innocents and even implied that they indirectly brought it upon themselves.  Hindley implied that one of her victims ‘should not have been out so late at night’; Blair’s inferences suggest he was also a victim of circumstance and now inadequately blames ‘the hidden hand of Iran’.

Both Psychopaths regularly returned to and had their trophy photographs taken at the scene of their crimes.

Myra Hindley believed that she and Brady became ‘their own God’s’ and was completely disconnected from normal life; Hindley remained so up until her death.

Blair also clearly demonstrates a self-affirming, godlike personality.   He was and remains completely detached from reality, in relation to his self -supporting virtuousness, his steadfast self-belief regarding WMD’s and invasion of Iraq despite information that has transpired since; and his ongoing rabid enthusiasm for a similar confrontation with Iran.

The only dissimilarities I see are:  the difference in the number of children involved, that Myra Hindley was tried, convicted and punished for her crimes and was never free again.

Hindley was also not immediately made a Middle East Peace Envoy and ironically continued persistently, to trumpet war against yet more Middle Eastern countries.  Her memoirs were never published; she was not rewarded for her crimes either financially, or prestigiously; and was never given the power, resources, or opportunity to murder innocent children again.

Tony Blairs Memoirs and Can “Firm Friends” Play A Part In A Middle East Peace Process?

I’ve been wondering recently whether Tony Blair is just a simple narcissist, or as I have long thought, a psychopath. The problem is the lines between what constitutes a narcissist and a psychopath can become blurred to amateur researchers like myself.  After careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that my latter thinking is correct; Blair is actually a psychopath.

Only the mind of a psychopath is capable of creating a thought process whereby the horrors, colossal life changing injuries and death experienced by hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people and of British soldiers, due to his egotistical participation in an illegal war, could be erased in the minds of the public at large.  Blair did exactly this in regard to his memoirs.

This is demonstrated by Blairs decision to donate the profits of his memoirs to injured troops.  Large swathes of the public at large may perceive his action as a demonstration of guilt and deep regret and of ‘making amends’.  But the decision to donate was not just driven by his recognition of this and how it could be used to rejuvenate his negative public persona, but to also perpetuate his own vanity. It seems Blair doesn’t comprehend that there really is no need to polish a turd.

Blair’s memoirs not only demonstrate the sheer awfulness of the reasoning behind his participation; they also display his total lack of a conscience, whilst at the same time pander to his own perceived superiority.   Only the psychopath is capable of creating a tool that inadvertently compounds all these things, when the opposite is actually his goal.

Blair was fully aware that the publics reaction to his memoirs would consist of fury and disdain, he was also well aware that protests and public demonstrations would follow any personal promotion of said memoirs.   It was hoped that by donating  all profits he would create a moral dilemma within said public and any protest groups.

His decision was clearly not made because he wants to atone, or feels anything at all toward those who suffered due to his actions, his writing compounds this completely, by his unshakable belief that he was completely right regardless of the consequences.

A common trait within the psychopath is an overwhelming desire to be admired; fulfilling this is difficult when the psychopath, firstly, cannot function as a normal human being as he cannot feel empathy and sympathy, but is also incapable of the warmth and humility that builds admiration in others.

Today I’ve also been thinking about the latest naïve optimism coming out of the US regarding the brokering of a Middle East peace process; along with popular US opinion that Tony Blair taking part in the launch of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Washington is crucial.

As children we were all read fairytales with mostly happy endings where the psychopaths are punished appropriately and the subjugated live happily ever after.   I also remember that some of these fairytales were terribly dark with not so happy endings; I personally fear the ongoing quest for any long lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israel is just another one of those rather sinister fairytales.  How could it not be, given the circumstances?

Firstly, the majority of those involved are ‘firm friends’ of Israel.  This statement alone tells the world at large that any resolution is impossible given such a starting position.

Secondly, the preconditions for peace.  If unrealistic concessions (historically the case) have to be made by the Palestinians and if the Israeli administration still won’t allow Hamas to take part in any talks, the whole never ending process of peace conferences and pseudo negotiations are pointless at best.

Regardless of mass propaganda; the truth of the matter is; that Hamas have on many occasions assured numerous peace brokers that they would accept Israel as a state if Israel returned to their pre-1967 borders.   In numerous public statements in 2009 Tony Blair made clear he is well aware of this and yet now in 2010 Blair has seemingly and conveniently forgotten such acknowledgements.

Blair trumpets his ‘Pièce de résistance’ of brokering peace in Northern Ireland; and the US in particular see this as an acclamation as to why he should hold the position of a Middle East Envoy.   Unfortunately he and the present US peace brokers are also well aware that the Northern Ireland process was an abject failure up until all parties were included.

Perhaps the fact that it was actually John Major and not Blair who initiated the final peace process and the fact that it was Mo Mowlam, Senator Mitchell and other Northern Ireland politicians and not Blair, who carried out the crucial years of protracted negotiations, explains why Blair and the US think excluding Hamas is perfectly democratic and will not affect the peace process.

It seems the present Middle East peace brokers forget; that at some point, before the IRA renounced violence, laid down their arms and took up the pen instead of the sword, talks with the enemy were held and negotiations were agreed.  How else were decades of violence put aside, unless dialogue changed and at last the dice was rolled?

Blair knows all this and yet because he is ‘firm friends’ with Israel he will not acknowledge it.   The US knows this and because they are ‘firm friends’ with Israel they will also not acknowledge it.

Unfortunately, until the present peace brokers recognise that unless those with the most to lose (Israel) as well as Hamas, are also willing to renounce violence, lay down their arms and take up the pen instead of the sword and make some long overdue, honest concessions. there will be no resolution.

Until the present peace brokers employ real democracy within the proceedings instead of deliberately ensuring through their ‘special friendship’ that those who have most to gain are never to be included in the peace process there will be no resolution.

New Precipice Walk, Snowdonia National Park – Adventures in a Welsh Wonderland

Decided to spend Sunday walking the New Precipice Walk in the Snowdonia National Park. I Packed up a picnic and off we went. I don’t think we could have chosen a more beautiful day. It was quite hard going due to the intense heat; But my goodness was the effort worth it.

The full (strenuous) circular walk of 7 – 10 miles, depending of course from where you start, really is a wonder to behold. The breathtaking views of the Mawddach Estuary and also across to Cader Idris and the Arans, consist of, in my personal opinion, some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

Part of the walk encorporates a route through a completely silent wood; and some of the smells you encounter as you walk are truly wonderful.

Mosses In The Silent Wood

Imagine a ‘hundred hippies burning incense sticks’ and you would come close to capturing the aromatic perfume given off by Jeffrey Pine trees; also the varied mosses and late bluebells throughout the wood are every shade of green and blue one could imagine; and quite, quite beautiful.

Late Bluebells

As we ascended toward the half way point of the walk, wherever you looked the views were amazing; glimpses caught through the trees gave us an indication of what was to come;

Peeping Through The Trees

First Glimpse Of Afon Mawddach

Afon Mawddach And Mountains

Cars Looking Like Ants From The Precipice

The view of the Mawddach Estuary from the half way point of our walk was spectacular; my photograph really does not do it justice as we could see Ireland in the distance quite clearly due to the fine weather conditions . We stopped here for our lunch and I cannot think of a more beautiful location for a picnic. We were also entertained by Buzzards at this point; soaring above us the whole while.

Stunning view from the half way point

From this point we ascended a little higher to be met by an abundance of gorse and early heather; again my photograph really does not do it justice…

Gorse And Early Heather

On the ascent we came across my would be dream home; an old derelict house with the most fabulous views and a would be garden.. full of sheep! Maybe one day….

My Dream Home

Toward another silent wood on the descent;

Woods on Descent

Into The Woods...Again!

Reminds Me.... Of Hansel And Gretel

Not Far Now?

Around a very pretty reservoir;

Reservoir

Down a few more hills…

Hills On Final Descent

Over The Stream…

Stream Towards The End Of The Walk

Hmmmm Supper?

Almost Back To Our Starting Point......And A Chicken Supper!

If you ever get the chance to visit the beautiful Snowdonia National Park I cannot recommend this wonderful walk enough. We had the most wonderful day.  I really cannot thank the Snowdonia National Park enough;  for providing such an  inspiring walk.

A final word…of warning. if you tackle this walk on a very hot day as we did….don’t forget to apply sun lotion to your face as well as everywhere else….or you will end up with facial skin so tight it feels like you have undergone the sort of face lift that only American women seem to desire….carried out by an over zealous.. horribly insane plastic surgeon…and end up having no facial expression whatsoever…for hours…..just like I….

Happy Hiking….

Nigella Lawson? I Don’t Think So – Nightmare Easter Simnel Cake

Nigella Caricature – Kindly Provided By Ian Baker – http://www.ianbakercartoons.co.uk & http://www.221artstore.co.uk

I decided I was going to do some baking over the Easter holiday.

Working full-time means that from time to time I have feelings of guilt over the lack of home-baked treats provided for the family.   Whenever I have time off; I try to emulate, albeit a rather poor version of Nigella Lawson and bake things.

So; I decided to make an Easter Simnel Cake.  The first hurdle was trying to actually remember  the name of this Easter delicacy and after several hours spent trawling the net and being presented with a never-ending list of recipes for chocolate egg nests and hot cross bunnies; I finally found the recipe I was looking for.

This traditional recipe called for a lot of work and from the onset I had a feeling of trepidation.    The main one being the need to make ones own Almond paste (Marzipan).  Apparently shop bought, has too much sugar in it and will melt during cooking; I was reliably informed via the recipe, that by making my own, this would not happen.  I should just point out, just in case you are not aware; that Simnel cake has a layer of marzipan running through the middle.

Well, I did exactly as the recipe directed;  by placing about half of Asia and Africa’s supply of almonds and a specified amount of Tate & Lyle into a bowl and although the almond paste looked and smelt like marzipan, it did not taste like marzipan.

Never being one to give up and  no matter the lingering harbinger of doom,  I just deposited half a bottle of almond essence into the mixture and hoped for the best.  Unfortunately the paste was a bit too pliable after this, even though the other amounts used were to the letter,  so to counteract this, I left the lump of pseudo marzipan by the central heating boiler to dry out.  This seemed to work quite well actually.

The ingredient to cake mixture conversion proceeded without any complications and the result was a yummy looking concoction of fruit, eggs, flour and spices ready to go into the cake tin.  This of course raised my spirits somewhat.

I transferred half the cake mixture from food processor to cake tin; placed my previously rolled out layer of  dried out almond paste, courtesy of the central heating boiler, on the top and then the rest of the cake mixture on top of the almond paste.   By this time, although feeling a little frazzled, my mood had changed from apprehensive to very optimistic.

I put the cake in the oven, cooked it for what seemed like half a year on a very low heat as instructed; and whilst waiting, stuffed my face with easter eggs and happily envisioned the amazed expressions on the faces of my family when presented with the results of my culinary genius.

The recipe suggested that I insert a clean knife into the cake from time to time; to test whether the cake was cooked and ready to remove from the oven, so I did.  Unfortunately each time I did so, the knife, when removed still had uncooked residue adhering to it, almost three hours later.

So, I left it for another half an hour and finally took it out.   The cake looked and smelt stunning, unfortunately at this point I didn’t.  How exactly does Nigella still manage to look like a goddess, even after the stress of cooking one has  to ask?   When I, even though wearing a particularly eyecatchingly elegant pair of Jasper Conran Pyjamas, looked like a deranged and disheveled, flour splattered bag lady?

After letting my portrayal of culinary magnificence cool for a while, I placed yet another previously rolled out layer of  dried out almond paste, courtesy of the central heating boiler on top of the cake, followed by eleven balls of left over almond paste to represent the apostles, minus Judas.  Although isn’t leaving Judas out just a tad unfair, as if the new testament is to be believed, then Judas only did that, which was previously organised/predestined by God (Jesus) anyway?

A finished Simnel Cake should look something like this….

Talking about predestined, it was predestined that my Simnel cake was going to look more like ones depicted version of a hopelessly drunken Nigella’s unfinished Christmas cake, rather than the spectacular comestible I had envisioned.

The almond paste in the middle of the cake did melt; there was no sign of it upon cutting.

When slices were presented to the family for tasting, I was informed that it was ‘moist’.  That’s it, moist!

It’s no wonder the blasted thing was ‘moist’ with all that melted marzipan inside it.

I defy anyone to tell me that their Simnel Cake always has a distinctive layer of golden almond paste running through the middle of it, without them having surreptitiously sliced the cake in half, thrown a rolled out layer of previously bought shop marzipan on one half and then squeezed the two sections of cake back together again.

I also defy anyone to tell me that after baking a Simnel cake, they managed to look as dapper and well-groomed  as Nigella.

My next challenge will be Christmas Stollen.  I told you… I don’t give up easily.

Update:  04/04/2012 – I just realised that the Url for Nigella’s recipe has now changed; the new Url is displayed below.  Happy Easter and Happy Cooking.

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/simnel-cake

Note:  At the time of writing this blog post (2010) I did not use Nigella’s recipe.  In 2011 I did and it is a great recipe.

Tip: Nigella’s recipe calls for a blow torch to brown the marzipan cake top; the grill works just as well if you don’t have a blow torch , but be careful; watch it like a hawk, as brown can turn to burnt very quickly (sigh).  Nigella also uses shop bought Marzipan!