More Weird New York Stories

As I reported in my last post, I grew up in Tribeca right by the mighty Hudson river, back in the day we had the Sand dunes we used to call them which were land fill that the world financial center and part of battery park city now rest on. Landfill is water mixed with sand and some concrete too which creates land on water. Me and my friends would play on the dunes, football or just mess around out there seeing who was out there. One day me and my friend were just hanging out on the dunes, we must have been about 13 or 14 or so. As we were walking back out of the dunes we spotted four black kids coming towards us, we didn't know them, they weren't from our neighborhood. We tried to walk away from them but we had to walk towards them to get out of the dunes and back onto West Street. As we got near them they grabbed the both of us and started to threaten us, we tried to struggle but my friend was not a fighter and although I tried to fight, I was small and there were four of them so it didn't matter much, they grabbed us and held us and they found some rope that must have been lying around in one of the sculptures or on the sand. I remember them saying we are going to throw you in the river white boy or something to that effect. Now, if your not familiar with the Hudson river, it's not a place you want to swim in first of all and secondly you definitely don't want to be in there tied up. The Hudson has very dangerous currents which have drowned more than one person who for whatever reason has found themselves in there. I tried not to show I was scared yet at the same time I didn't want to egg them on because who knew, they might really throw us in. We stayed quiet, they tied us up and kept razzing us, trying to scare us, my friend seemed more scared than me. I stayed quiet and just looked at them like I wished they were all dead. After a while they must have got bored with us, because they left us there tied back to back together. It took us another hour to work our way out of the ropes, thank god they didn't tie very good knots, we lived to see another day and weren't dunked in the treacherous hudson river.

I have another story to tell, this one a bit more gruesome. I used to live in a high rise building, when I was maybe 13 or 14, I went to pick up my best friend who lived right downstairs from me behind my building to go to school as I always did. I remember it was a cold snowy day and it had snowed the night before. I would exit my building into a small park area behind the building where there were benches and tree planters with trees in them. As usual, my friend wasn't ready yet so I waited for him outside, it was cold that day. As I looked around, about twenty feet away I thought I saw something in the snow, I wasn't sure what it was because there was some snow on top of it. I began to walk closer and realized it was a person, half buried in the snow. I couldn't understand what they were doing there, were they sleeping? As I got closer I could see the person's face and chest, the rest was buried in the snow, I didn't want to touch them, the man wasn't moving, I had never seen a dead body before and I was strangely facinated. As I looked to my left, I saw the man's legs lying in the tree planter, obviously not connected to his body anymore. Apparently the man had jumped from the roof during the night, which is over 39 stories up, he must have hit the tree planter which was about four feet high and it severed his legs from his body at the stomach area. For some reason I wasn't disgusted by this, it looked strange, I heard a little girl come walking near me and I had to go grab her so she wouldn't see and usher her away, then I told my friend to call security for the building and they came. I felt bad for the poor man and wondered later why he would jump and how scary it must have been, peering off the roof seeing how far you would have to fall before you hit the ground. I later found out the man had cancer and was terminally ill, he was going to die anyway and I guess he wanted to die on his own terms. I never really spoke about this to many people, these are things I guess you sometimes see growing up here in the City. I remember another girl had also jumped from my buildings roof before this, I also saw her body laying on the sidewalk crumpled in the fetal position, I remember the blood trickling from her into a drain on the sidewalk and as I walked away I saw one of her teeth on the sidewalk about twenty to thirty feet away, I imagined the impact of her body hitting the ground and wondered what drove her to it, she was young. I don't think I could jump from my terrace although I have thought about it many times. I guess i'm too chicken. I wonder what these people thought on the way down because it takes a few seconds to hit the ground. I often wonder what the poor souls thought of that jumped from the World Trade Center on 9/11, some from three times the height of where I lived and it makes me shudder to have to make that choice. I can remember seeing the New York Times photograph of September 12th 2001 with a picture of a man upside down in the air who had just leapt out of one of the windows to avoid being burned alive, upside down, his tie fluttering on his way to the ground. It makes me shudder to this day as I think of all I have seen and how I manage to stay sane in this place that sometimes can drive you insane. It is not easy.

Weird New York Stories

When I was 10 or 12 or so, I used to go down and play by the hudson river, back then the old West side Highway was the old elevated monster that stretched up from battery park up to the fifties along the Hudson River, where the world financial center now sits was only a vast expanse of sand, this was created by the dirt excavated when they built the World Trade Centers. It was all landfill, picture a large square beach on the Hudson River. There wasn't much to do down there, local artists would go out there and build art from garbage, bottles, bottle caps, cans etc. Some people would sunbathe there in the summer. To get to the sand dunes as me and my friends used to call them, you would have to cross the highway, go underneath it and then walk towards the Sand dunes nearby. Sometimes I would stare into the Hudson to see what people would dump in there, when the tide would go out you could see all the crap at the bottom, typerwriters, garbage and the like, one time I even found a small harpoon, who knows how old it was. One day as I was going back home from walking out on the Dunes, I was passing underneath the elevated part of the highway when I felt someone grab me from behind, I felt cold metal against my neck and a gruff voice asking me for money. Of course being twelve or so I was scared, not very big and unable to free myself. I could smell the alcohol on whomever it was holding me. My brain reeled as I fought back my fear. I also realized that I had no money to give this person on me, all I had was a small pocket knife that I usually carried on me. It's hard to think when you have a knife at your throat and a drunk homeless man who's desperate trying to take your money which you have none of. I began to talk to the man, I told him that I hadn't seen his face, please let me go and I wouldn't tell anyone. I kept saying that I hadn't seen him and that I wouldn't tell. As I repeated this, pleading with him, I think it began to register, the man began to maybe feel a bit of remorse, no one was around to help me. I waited for him to cut me, I figured it was over, I knew if I struggled he would probably kill me and dump my lifeless body into the river. After what seemed like an eternity I felt his grip relax, the knife was taken away from my throat and I walked away slowly at first and then began to run, I never did look back to see the man although I wanted to. I was scared that if I saw him he would try to get me although I knew I could outrun him easily, I was fast as a kid and could outrun just about anyone in my neighborhood. I never did tell anyone about it until many many years later. I think I repressed the memory of it because I never thought about it again until I was in my late twenties or so, it almost seemed as if it was a dream even then, but it did happen. I lived to see another day. I wonder what happened to the man sometimes, I am glad he had some kind of conscience and decided to let me go. I have had a few experiences in my life where I almost died, and this was one of them. It gives you a new appreciation of life and you realize that it can be taken from you at any moment. As the saying goes, tommorrow is never promised. So True. If you are ever in a situation that you have no control over, all I can say is try to remain calm and think, if you shut your mind down your done for. Sometimes you can talk your way out of things if your smart about it, not always but sometimes. I'll be back soon with another weird New York Stories. I have many.

Late New York Streets

Late New York Streets



Out late, New York cold streets I walk the deserted streetes on purpose,
tempting fate.
The city hisses at me with steam from manholes,
the rats are my witness.
Cold cobblestone, prone, alone,
I am the midnight wanderer.
The homeless sleeping in cardobard boxes, forgotten,
left to rot by the system.
On these cold hard streets I live.
In and out of realities glare.
The night is my friend and I wander searching for something.
In these dark alley's I find myself.
Through my solitude I burst forth.
To wonder and wander.
To try to drink from life's cup once again.
Yet so close to death's embraces, only a short leap away.
Shall I break the bond or stay.

Dark Gold

DARK GOLD


Underneath I suffer,
I wear a cloak of pretending around me torn.
No one can see me through it but me.
When I dare to look,
to see me, I am forlorn.
Sometimes in the corner of my vision I see ghosts of days passed.
Vanished in an instant.
My vision of who I am is lost, as bombs fall over other lands,
the diaspora crumbling beneath us.
As we watch and do nothing.
Tyrants abound and astound us, including our own leaders.
We have blood on our hands as we always have.
The lies unfold from their lips, truth untold.
They make us fear the unknown,
when they are the ones we should fear, their lies grow bold.
Greed unfolds like a billowing cloud as they rain out their hate on us.
The land withers and dies
and babies cry and die from bombs dropped with malice and no thought.
Life is cheap to them, their only lust is for the dark gold.
With no care for humanity,
their souls already sold,
to the devil's hold.
Their truth unseen as the lies unfold.
If you see them for a moment,
see death take hold.

What Happened To The Dream? A Poem

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DREAM?

Where did the dream end and our reality begin?
I thought America stood for ideals.
What happened to the dream?
To the Land of the free and the home of the brave,
home of a dictator run amok,
The poor still starve, while the corporation rules all.
Freedom is not free, nor is it bought with lives.
Freedom is a state of consciousness we haven't attained.
Somewhere, the experiment has gone awry.
The angry scientists in their labs are cooking up new weapons.
Smart bombs, apache helicopters, the emperor stands before us,
spouting his lies, as our young die and we sit under the corporate
umbrellas with no eyes.
The left, the right, all liars sucking on the corporate teat.
Bawling for their mothers love, hands opened to the highest bidder.
Big oil rapes our mother earth, her womb sucked dry by their tentacles.
We cry as our gas prices rise, our Suv's demand more and more,
as our children die for the lie they tell.
We destabilize governments for our cause.
Land of the free? I don't think so.
Ask the Indians, who we slaughtered are we the home of the brave?
Or home of the slave.
Ask the African Americans we enslaved for our plantations,
We don't own the land, we stole it from those that lived here before us.
Ask Walmart, Ask Nike, who are the new slave masters now,
Ask Exxon, Ask our leader who lays in bed with these monsters
and says he's a religious man. Where is his humanity? He has none.
We are the rapers of the Earth, bereft of emotion besides the small few.
We destroy and pillage our enemies.
We destabilize,
Ask the people of Wounded Knee who we slaughtered for no reason.
Men, women and children all.
Ask the Slaves we bartered like cattle, they know the truth.
Our leader is a thief, a liar and a cheat.
The great manipulator, who smiles as he kills in the name of what?
America the experiment has gone wrong and we have become a monster.
All the great societies must end, their downfall is always greed and hubris it is assured.
Shame on us Shame for sitting by and doing nothing as we kill in the name of greed.

The problem with New York City and this country

I tell you something boys and girls, it's the little guy that gets fucked in this city more and more. New York is my town, I grew up here and it's all I know, but more and more this city is changing and I'm not liking the changes. There used to be a diner near me, they made some of the best burgers and egg creams I ever had and I'm a connoisseur. This diner had been in the area for 25 years, when no one wanted to even come to this neighborhood because it was basically abandoned. This man worked his ass off building his business, his clientele. People came to count on this place to always be open for their morning breakfasts, lunches, dinners. The owner was a nice Greek guy that always had a smile for you when you came in. Now some rich bastard bought the building and bam, just like that this guy is out on the street. New York used to be a city of neighborhoods, each having it's own flavor and vibe and that's still true in parts of Brooklyn and the other boroughs. But in Manhattan that's vibe is long gone. If you walk through Soho now it's all glitzy stores, with very few small businesses. You know why? because the rents have gone up so much that small businesses can't survive. How many Banks do we need? or sephora's or Starbuck's with their overpriced coffee that tastes like crap and other such places. I blame mayor Bloomberg for most of this and also Giuliani to some extent, the rampant building going on in Manhattan especially has gone unchecked. How many new condo developments do we need and who the fuck is buying all these boxes for 800,000 a pop? Certainly not the middle class or lower middle class who are getting shit on left and right by this government. Affordable housing units are vanishing at record levels as Bloomberg allows landlords to exit programs such as Mitchell llama and other affordable housing programs.I am almost at the point myself of being forced out of my apartment or "priced out" as the saying goes. Wages don't keep up with rent and other bills, then what do you get? You get screwed my friend that's what. How long are we supposed to just take it? It seems to me that the gap is widening so far under Bush between the haves and have nots that sooner or later we are going to be another Russia, where there is no middle class just rich and poor. It looks like I'm going to be coming out on the losing side unless I can get a writing job, going back to school is costing me $15,000 a semester.So I'll be lucky if I have any credit once I get out. If there's no jobs waiting for me then it's bankruptcy city, Ive been there before but don't want to be there again. The point I'm trying to make here is, when is enough enough? I think we need a revolution in this country, it might not be an armed one but there must be one of ideas. Of finally saying enough is enough of the status quo, both democrats and republicans have real flaws and the independents aren't much better. Can't we just have a fucking honest president for once? I know people like to bad mouth Clinton but I'll tell you something, I had no problem finding work when he was in office. When Clinton was in office the New York Times sunday help wanted section averaged over 30 pages of jobs and sometimes more a week. Under Bush the same section averages ten pages on a good week, it's usually less. In a city of over 8 million that's not good. I've been to job interviews when I can get one, where the person hiring has told me he got 400 resumes for one job! That shit scares me because it's telling me I basically have no chance. If a man can't make a decent wage and care for his family or his girlfriend or boyfriend then that man starts to die inside, slowly at first then more and more as his pride gets eaten away. A man needs his pride, it keeps him going through the hard times. I guess we all die a little each day, who needs to speed up the process? I hope things change, I hope once Bush leaves office a democrat can come in and clean up the mess again like Clinton had to do after Reagan and Bush the first screwed things up. I don't get why anyone votes republican, there track record stinks and what do these people really stand for? they are zealots for the most part both religious and ideological, they are dangerous, especially a person like Bush who thinks that God is speaking through him. If he really was, he would have helped those poor people in New Orleans, we say we have the greatest military in the world but for some reason we can't drop pallets of food and water to our own people?! Or, maybe we could have but they were poor and black and probably didn't vote for Bush anyway so what did he care. He had to clear some brush on his farm didn't he? I am sorry for this rant, but sometimes this shit just builds up in your psyche and it has to be released, it's like that scene from the doors where Jim Morrison almost has his nervous breakdown, he sees the war in Vietnam on TV, he's under indictment by the criminal courts, the world seems to be spiraling out of control and he says "I think i'm having a nervous breakdown" I guess that's how I feel in a way, with the Iraq war, global warming, polar bears drowning because there's no ice left, animal cruelty, high gas prices,high rents, low pay, the immigration debate, well hey that's not a problem for me I don't care either way and why is this an issue now? people have been jumping over that border for the past fifty to 100 years, and wasn't Texas once Mexico's land? As well as most of California? Oh I forgot, we stole that from them too, just like we murdered and subjugated the American Indians in this country. We have a lot of blood on our hands, I wonder if you add up all the innocent civilians we killed even in just the past 100 years in the wars we have fought and sometimes started. How many people have we killed? it must be in the tens of millions. That has an exponential effect, all those people never got to finish out their lives, maybe one of those people might have found a cure for cancer or built some amazing machine, but we will never know, what about all the kids they might have had and so on and so on. I don't know how this rant turned from New York City to this but hey I'm going with it. When a writer gets this feeling he or she often doesn't want to stop, and why should they, writing isn't easy you know and usually is fueled by passion. I guess I'm an angry American and an angry New Yorker too, if anyone is reading this I hope I haven't bored you. What I can say is read your history because we always end up repeating it, to not know your history is to not know your past and that is a bad thing. I hope things will get better in my city but to be honest, I think it's the end of an era, this isn't the city I once new, it's a glitzed up version of it's former self. Part of the city's allure for me was that it wasn't perfect, it still isn't but I liked it when it was a little more dangerous and a little less clean. I liked my old neighborhood stores where the people knew you and you were happy to give them your money because you knew it was going towards a life, a family and a dream. Not to some corporate entity that viewed you as a statistic on a sheet of paper. That's the difference I guess. I must say it's sad to see this happen to my city. Keep the faith people and let's hope the worm turns someday.

The News and what it doesn't tell us

Do you ever watch the news and wonder if they are really telling you the whole truth? For example, if you watch the news from other countries and their coverage of the Iraq war, it is vastly different than what we see on CNN or your local news. They often show much more graphic images of the seemingly endless car bombs and attacks. Why is this? You must first understand that the news in the United States is censored, the dictionary lists censorship as "The act,process, or act of censoring" ok, well that doesn't give us much insight into this, however the third definition is a bit more interesting, it lists censorship as "Psychology, Prevention of disturbing or painful thoughts or feelings from reaching consciousness except in a disguised form"
Hmmm that's interesting isn't it. So by censoring the images and articles that news writers can show or talk about are we really getting a true picture of the events transpiring? I would say no we are not. By using the term Psychology what are they saying? this is a psychological process? They don't want these disturbing and painful images from reaching our consciousness because if they did what might happen? Would the public rise up? Maybe. I think if everything that went on in this war was truly reported and shown there would be such a swell of anger and disgust at this President and those that voted for this war that the public might actually take to the streets in larger numbers than have been seen so far. This was part of the reason for the downfall of the Vietnam war. The public was shown caskets coming home daily, they were shown more realistic and truthful images of the impact of war. This war has been characterized by many to be the most censored war in the history of mankind and I'd tend to agree. By forcing journalists to be "embedded" with the troops, the armed forces are then gaining final say in what can be reported on and shown to the American public and the world which is a form of censorship. If you were to watch German or French news you would see a vastly different depiction of events that are transpiring over in Iraq. This is nothing new however, the news in this country has been this way for some time. If you recall during the elections of 2000 and 2004 the coverage was sparse and you never really saw much air time given to the lines of people who never got to vote, or for example to the fact that the machines being used have been shown to be easily hackable by someone that knows how to hack. HBO recently ran an interesting documentary called "Hacking Democracy" which revealed categorically that these machines are not safe and are open to hackers. For more information on this ground breaking documentary please visit.
Hacking Democracy

If you don't have HBO I am sure it might be available by now on amazon or possibly your local video store or on Netflix. I would urge everyone to view this documentary. The news did have some coverage about the machines but nothing as groundbreaking and in depth as this. The point is, who is pulling the strings? The major news agencies have consolidated to a point now where less than 15 large conglomerates are controlling almost all of themajor news agencies. For example, NBC of course is owned by General Electric. By allowing large corporations to own News agencies the country is doing a disservice to itself. It's the corporations that don't want you to know the full truth. Corporations from their infancy were supposed to be tightly regulated by the Government. They were never supposed to wield as much power as they do today. If your more interested in how corporations have become so out of control I would urge you to rent a great documentary called "The Corporation" I know it's in Blockbuster because I rented it there, if you'd like to visit their website to learn more about this amazing documentary, please visit
The Corporation
The point I am trying to ultimately make is, something has gone really wrong with this country. When we allow corporations to control our news, to control our political process and our leaders then we are not a government of the people and for the people. I have a great way to get corporations out of politics. First we must ban all lobbyists period. Yes I know some lobbyists are lobbying for good causes but the bottom line is there are too many of them and they have way too much power. Secondly, no corporation should be allowed to give any money to any candidate period. Each candidate will be given a certain amount of money from the taxpayers, if we can spend a billion dollars a week in Iraq, I think we can afford this. Networks and radio stations will have to give each candidate a certain amount of ad time at their own expense, or have this subsidized by the government as well. By doing this we would get all these special interests out of our political process and maybe, possibly restore some faith in a political process that has been destroyed by corporate interests. Just an idea, but I think it beats what we have in place now. As for voting machines, I don't see what's wrong with the old style, at least it leaves a trail, most of these new machines don't. How about we each fill out a piece of paper and use the ink on the finger idea that was used in Iraq? There are many ways to vote leaving a paper trail. Any computer system is vulnerable to hacking, even some of the most secure computers in the world are. Getting back to the news, I am not sure of the answer, part of the new revolution is the blogosphere which to some extent is keeping the news media more honest. They are even scooping some stories that the major news entities never even find. So hooray for the blogger's out there who are adding their independent voices to the commentary I salute them.I hope in some way to add to it myself albeit in a minute way. Everyone has a duty to seek out truth wherever it may lie, don't just read one newspaper or just watch CNN, go on the web, search out stories, read foreign press or blogs and make your own decisions on what you believe and don't trust just one source. Thanks for reading and hope to see you again soon.

A Poem

HEAD ON DOWN

Where do you dwell?
down in the deep places we all fear inside of us.
The place where wants and fears guide us,
Head on down, down to that place inside.
Where you can find your demon sitting on a throne of muscle and bone.
Challenge it with your will and fire.
Fight remorse and terror.
Feel that needle prick your vein and the evil rush
soft endless velvet.
Feel greed and self loathing.
Know in moments that you can't survive temptation,
self destruction assured,
Knowledge of self blinded by untruth.
Feeling your soul slip further away, as you head down that path.
The dusty gravel in your voice is the end.

Endless mortar clogging your veins.
unravel,
seek the light of grace
yearn to be unburdened,
is suicide an answer? a willing choice of choices?
fall back into the dream once more.

Run to that place where pain and grief fear to go.
In that melancholy moment be free of cares.
Life is pain yet death is hard.
My mistress temptation embraces my heart.
Holding me in the grip, conscious of nothing, fearful of day
Let me head on down,
the path I have chosen is set in the stone of my tombstone.
My story is written in the words on these papers I leave here.
My testament to the world of my torture and strife.
Yet I overcame, I conquered my demon and lay him down.
Now the search is for more and reasons to want.
As I head on down the new road I’ve built.

By Ash Copyrighted 2006

People with dogs and why I sometimes can't stand them

I don't really understand people with dogs, the city owner with a dog sometimes ends up taking them to a "doggy day care" type place. They work so much that they don't even have the time to spend with their dog. so they end up taking them to a daycare like a child. Ok that's fine I guess, hey it's your life and your dog, do what the hell you want, but what about the dog? Doesn't the dog deserve a master that gives a crap about them? Plays with them etc? I walk by the doggie day care places sometimes and I feel bad for the dogs, some of them seem to enjoy it and some are always sitting in the corner like a depressed kid, kind of like how I felt going to junior high school, alone, scared, not many friends and wishing I could be somewhere else. I just think it's wrong, if your going to get a dog then have the time to spend with it, it's not that hard. My other problem with dog owners is that they let their dogs piss and shit just about anywhere, they disregard signs on trees that say curb your dog, they let their dogs urinate on entrances to buildings, cars, bicycles etc. Why do these people have the audacity to think their dog can piss or shit wherever they want? The dog doesn't know any better, it's the owners responsibility to take the dog to a place where it can do these things. Hey owners, also please take extra baggies with you in case your dog goes more than once , I see so much dog shit everywhere because of lazy dog owners that just leave it there on the sidewalk. Also, just because your dog shits on soil or near a tree it is not carte blanche to just leave it there. This isn't the country or the forest or some shit, clean up after your dog because he or she can't do it themselves. I have heard people say my dog smells a tree and smells other dogs urine and he has to urinate there too, so he or she can leave there scent. If you don't let your dog piss there in the first place you wouldn't have this problem. Your dog doesn't have carte blanche, people have to walk around this city, trees deserve to live without being pissed on how would you like it if a dog came along while your just living and producing oxygen and just took a dump and urinated on you, doesn't sound like fun does it? Plus, urine kills the trees it isn't good for them as some people tend to believe. Ok dog owners that's my rant for today, I hope we can all get along. I love dogs just as much as anyone but I don't have one and if I did I sure as hell wouldn't let it piss all over someones building, car or trees. Ok rant over thanks for letting me vent.

Strange days

These are strange days aren't they? I often wonder why America is a land of "Mosts". What I mean by this is why do we have the most murders of any nation on earth? Why do we have the most people incarcerated in prison of any nation on earth? We have the most money, do the most drugs, have the most guns and weapons, have the most power. We have the most nuclear weapons. We have some of the most advanced science on the face of the earth yet we have over 40 million people with no health care. We are the richest nation ever in the history of the world yet we cannot feed everyone or house everyone. We have poverty right here in our own country and we have the means and power to eradicate it yet we don't. Are we morally and spiritually bankrupt? We have the most sex crimes of any nation on earth, we generate the most pornography, the most drugs pharmaceuticals that is. Why is it then that we have so much yet so much of what we have is bad? Yes I know I am taking a cynical approach here but these are all truths. Do we have the most pedophiles on earth? probably. What is it about our sociological makeup that makes us this way? I asked several people I know and some said we are undisciplined, under educated, we just don't give a shit. It makes you wonder doesn't it though? All the great societies eventually fell due to their own greed and hubris, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Aztecs, Incas. We will be lucky to make it as long as some of them did. History repeats itself and we never seem to learn from it. Our president doesn't even acknowledge that there is Global Warming, they like to use the term "Climate Change" again, this is a form or propaganda known as "Transfer." We are destroying the planet which we live on, I think history if there is any in the next hundred or so years will judge us harshly and rightly so. I hope we can change the history we are making today before it's too late. Keep the faith if you can. Goodnight from The Big Apple.

Some interesting sites to visit

I recently watched a video on google called The Truth and Lies of 9/11 I think every American should watch this video, it's by a gentleman named Mike Ruppert, a 20 plus year veteran police officer of the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Ruppert alleges that the C.I.A. has been selling drugs and smuggling drugs into the United States for well over 20 years, he systematically breaks down how, why and who the major players are in this and also breaks down how President Bush and his illegal Cabal let 9/11 happen. Everyone should view this shocking video, here is the link if your interested. Or you may access this video directly on my page on the lower right portion just click on the screen.
The Truth and Lies of 9/11hl=en if for some reason this link doesn't work, simply go to
Google Video it is a long video, over two hours but it shows, in my opinion the true workings of this countries CIA and how certain key players of the past 30 to 40 years have tried to shape this country with their warped values through illegal acts. If you are more interested after viewing this video you can visit Mr. Ruppert's website where all the factual information is referenced for your perusal, his website is.
From The Wilderness
I know what many of you may be thinking, there are so many 9/11 conspiracy theories and they are mostly false, that may be true but some of them I truly believe. Everyone was affected by 9/11. I happen to live very near the World Trade Center area, less than 10 blocks away in fact, I saw the second tower fall from very close, I heard the succession of loud explosions as the tower fell, I breathed the toxic air along with many other New Yorkers for over 3 months as the rubble burned and smoldered. I smelled the dead rotting. I had nowhere to go, I have two cats and didn't want to leave them. I am still angry at Christine Todd Whitman who told us the air was safe to breathe when it was later found to be unsafe. I am angry about so much, this website makes it clear that not only did our President and government know about the attacks before they happened, but that they did nothing to stop them! There is overwhelming evidence to support this and I urge any doubters to please visit the above referenced sites or search the internet and newspaper articles to see for yourself and make your own judgements about it. I won't go into all the details in the documentary but I urge you to view it in it's entirety and make your own judgements. I know what I saw and heard that day and I have talked to many people in my neighborhood over the years who also heard the loud gunshot like noises as the towers fell. I personally believe the towers were brought down not by the fires but by a controlled demolition. I am convinced our government was warned by multiple entities including Israel's Mossad prior to the attacks and did nothing to prevent them. In fact they waited for almost 75 minutes after the first plane was hijacked on 9/11 before they acted. The FTA's rules state that if a plane is hijacked that jet fighter's should be scrambled right away, this does not require presidential approval, why weren't any fighter's scrambled for so long? Were you aware one of the largest war games in recent history was going on the day of 9/11?
9/11 War Games
9/11 War Games Article

I find it ironic that many Americans still believe that we were attacked by Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Thousands of our brave soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq for nothing. I support our troops and I feel horrible for the families of these brave people. I am also angry that they are being sent to fight and die not for our freedom, not because of 9/11 but because of this President's mistaken belief that he can change the world and for oil. Democracy cannot be forced upon people. They have to choose it for themselves. It is clear to the American people and the world that this president lied about why we went to war. This to me is an impeachable offense. If they are going to impeach President Clinton for lying then the same standards should be imposed on this president. It has been proven he manipulated the intelligence of 9/11, it is proven that they knew the attack was coming and did nothing to stop it. It is proven that they continue to lie to the American people over and over and yet nothing is being done about it. How can we say to the world that we stand for certain ideals when we don't follow them ourselves? Where is our Truth and Justice? I don't understand how people can truly say that our soldiers are fighting and dying for our freedom in Iraq, I am no more free or less free because of their deaths. In fact if you logically look at it, we are less free now than we were before 9/11 due to our own governments actions. If you read about the tools of propaganda which consist of certain methods such as name calling, transfer of names or ideas from something less desirable to something more desirable, fear,bandwagon theory which says that if everyone is doing something it must be ok or justified, and other tactics. This president is using just about every propaganda technique known to mankind, this is nothing new, our country has used propaganda just about since our inception over 200 plus years ago. So do many other nations, the problem I have with this President is that no one is holding him accountable for his many lies. There seems to be a double standard here which no one has the guts to call them on. I know there are many trying in Government but this democratic congress has an obligation to investigate this president and his illegal doings and they aren't doing there job, not yet anyway. The pentagon itself cannot even account for the monies given to it, this war is just a cesspool of waste, not only of human lives on both sides, but of our hard earned tax dollars that could be used for other more pressing things. Do you notice any stories about Louisiana? There are thousands of people down there with no voice who are still living in horrible conditions, who were never given trailers by FEMA, who were bilked out of their insurance claims by insurance companies that took there money and didn't give a shit when they needed them. This president doesn't care about anyone who is poor or middle class and he never did. He sat there and did nothing while 9/11 was happening and he sat there and did nothing while Hurricane Katrina was decimating the Gulf coast, he lied about why we went to war and has lied repeatedly over and over and yet he is never held accountable by anyone, or any entity of the Government. This must come to an end. I commend people like Rep. Henry Waxman (D. CA) and Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D. IL) for their brave attempts at holding this president accountable but there should be more voices added to theirs. I am sorry for this long rant but I feel strongly about these issues and I won't apologize. Being a patriot isn't about blindly following your leaders, it's about criticizing them when you feel they are wrong and not representing the true will of the people. I would like to leave you with several quotes from one of the signers of our great constitution James Madison of Virginia,

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation's.

"Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government."

"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree."

See you next time, seek knowledge not from the television but in your own way, read books, newspapers,use the Internet as a tool to find the truth wherever it may be. Thank you for reading.

My first post hi everyone welcome to my blog

Hey everyone, thanks for coming to my blog, what I hope to accomplish here I am unsure of, but I think that writing has always been a therapeutic device for me so I am giving this a try. I am an angry young man I suppose. I am unhappy with the world that we live in and upset at our current president war monger in chief. I will attempt to mix some humor about growing up in New York city, along with some of my poetry and also what life is like in New York City as well. So you might never know what your going to get when you log in here. Isn't that what life is like? Your never sure what the new day might bring or if your life may end today or the next. I am a native of New York City, I grew up middle class, my parents are divorced since I was 15 and big shocker I don't get along with my parents that well. I have written poetry since the age of 17 and yes I dreamt of being a writer yet so far it hasn't worked out. That doesn't mean however that I won't keep trying. One thing about us New Yorkers is, we are stubborn and we don't take shit from anyone. New Yorkers sometimes get a bad rap but let me tell you, we can be some of the nicest people you've ever met also so don't believe everything you hear. I grew up in an area of the city called Tribeca, which if you haven't heard means triangle below canal street. It used to be a very industrial area, populated by warehouses and old loft style buildings. Now it has been invaded by the uber wealthy, stockbrokers, lawyers, doctors and the like. While I have nothing against the rich (ok I wish I was one of them but yet I am not.) I do feel a certain sense of anger that they have driven so many of us regular folk out of the neighborhood. I am hanging on by the skin of my teeth, thanks to a rent controlled apartment. I am sure you have all heard of the Tribeca film festival that in recent years has become so huge. I am not a fan to be honest. I tried to go see one of the films last year and was accosted by a snotty 20 something employee, maybe I should have worn my prada outfit or something I don't know (wait I don't own one!) anyway, suffice it to say I got pissed off and being that I'm a stubborn ass decided to boycott the festival for life. New York can be a fucked up place to grow up at times, you come across some of the most interesting and also some of the most disgusting people you will ever meet here. Have you ever rode the subway and encountered a grown man wearing a large white pail on his head covered with aluminum foil? I have. I called him pail head, I saw him twice over the years and then he vanished completely. I always wondered what he was trying to keep out , was he concerned about aliens trying to read his thoughts? possibly. I have seen all sorts of things growing up here, I have seen dead bodies, I have been mugged at knife point, (not fun hey I was 12 at the time and talked my way out of it) I have seen someone shot, I have been hit by a car, I have seen movie stars, I have smelled some of the best and most disgusting odors imaginable. These are all things one will encounter if they stay here long enough. Mind you, I love my city don't get me wrong. I am just trying to establish to you the reader what my city is like and how I view it. There are certain rules one must follow when visiting here. One is, yes you should look up to get views of the city's amazing architecture, yet you should also look down and left and right at the corners. Why look down? Well unfortunately many dog owners here refuse to clean up after there dogs and there are all manners of piles of shit around, also gum, an occasional used needs, (although there are less of them now) glass, urine, both dog and human and other such undesirable things. OK enough on that note I don't want to gross you out. There are over 8 million people living in New York City and the neighborhoods while less diverse than they once were still have an amazing array of nationalities and interesting cultures to explore. Warning, if you visit New York City and get in a cab from the airport, choose the flat rate option, it is most of the time much cheaper that way your cab driver won't take you for a scenic tour. Believe me I used to work in a hotel and have heard horror stories of the 90 dollar airport fare. I rarely take cabs around the city however, it's just too expensive for me, the best way to get anywhere here is the Subway's if you would like to see a New York City subway map please visit. http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm You can buy a metrocard in varying amounts and maybe you might even see pailhead or some other interesting sites on your ride. If at all possible I would avoid riding the subway's between 8 am and 9:30 am and 5pm to 6pm, these are the peak rush hour times and unless you like being a human sardine, you should avoid the subway if possible, if not I like to ride either in the front or back of the subway, sometimes you get lucky and these cars are less crowded. Also, not to make you paranoid but, watch your wallet's and purses, pickpockets like to work the trains at these times, not to make you paranoid, these are just the times we live in and there's nothing you can do about it. In my next post i'll go into some funny stories. I would like to leave you now with a poem I wrote. The title is HOLD thanks for reading.

HOLD

I bartered my soul for peace.
A deal made with the devil for a pittance.
Cringing in dark corners.
Hold.
Wait for moment clear,
rationalize visions of dark days and the apocalypse.
Hold.
Reign in fear and heartache
release the bonds of rationale.
Seek fortitude in the essence of betrayal.
Lust in a cornered mind.
Hold.
Moments of twilight recede into days of rain.
Huddled within masses shrinking away.
Hold and find that which is sought by all.
Understand suffering and fear, starvation and death.
Meander through jungle thick, blossom with the fruit.
Hold.