Silly songs with Mark - Track one

http://www.youtube.com/v/5yYaNapDHUI?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=DUdivth_i3BgY5svIQSowA&autohide=1&feature=share

Tekkit for minecraft just got ridiculous - Tekkit52 - Episode two

http://www.youtube.com/v/wcloWgtwsd4?version=3&autohide=1&autohide=1&feature=share&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&attribution_tag=XA97_paIraMozVdhIHSl0g

Tekkit for minecraft just got better - Tekkit52 - Episode one

USA Government Shutdown - Wishful thinking!

Please read, then share. It really helps!


As of midnight, tuesday morning, the American Government goes into (partial) shutdown. This has had to happen due to the fact that the law that funds the government ‘ran out’ it expired - like the focus on Iraq - Poof, and it’s gone. For the government to stay open, the republican house and the democratic senate need to pass a new law, they both have to agree for it to go through.

   This is where the U.S of A has fell short. They simply can’t seem to agree on the new budget - or more specifically they can't agree on one point. Obamacare. What a horrible phrase. We can thank Jeanne Schulte Scott who first coined the phase (she was mocking that private care seemed to be all the presidential candidates cared about) “Health care is hot” she said back in 2008 - when Obamacare was a mere spec in the greedy little eye of the the ‘States.

But what does this shutdown actually mean? well, to be honest, nothing. 

• Government looses revenue from the tourist industry. 

• Keeping money from the 800,000 workers that don't need to be paid. 

• Taxes still collected from the citizens - with no need to spend them on pesky things like opening a 93m high french lady.

   With all this going on take one guess who's still being paid? No, not the NASA Scientists, Not the Police force either (they get IOU’s) but the ‘America’s bravest’ soldiers are still being paid for they’re daily pillage of the world. 

   Well, if America couldn't fund their army then how on Earth could they continue to control other countries oil supplies?! - Don’t be silly! thats not going to happen. Not on Obamawatch. Not when Obamacares. Not when it provides a beautiful smokescreen.

   What i’ve loved in watching this story develop is the unconditional bias shown (yes, i’m one to talk) but CNN and BBC are both only reporting the democratic side of the argument and Obamas reactions to what these ‘hostage taking’ republicans are doing. The underlying tone of the senate is comparing republicans to terrorism! 

   Fancy that! Russia steps in with the Syria fiasco, with their nonsense of ‘peace talks’ before bomb drops and suddenly the USA have ran out of fiction to fight! They have to literally bring the fight into there own house (pun intended) rather ironically over the inability to compromise with each other! Ridiculous. 

Obama Himself has just made a statement to the American people and the world.

   Blame game! From the outset he attacks the ‘one branch of one house’ he then goes on to compare them to holding ransom - again a terrorism reference. He talks of the services that have been shut down. he pleads with the republicans to reconsider. 

   Of course the affordable care act comes up. He focus’ on this heavily, more-so then the apparent devastating news of a government shutdown. He started giving sob stories of ‘true americans’ who are now blessed by his Obamacare. He went on to ‘plug’ websites and phone numbers for it! 

   This leader of the free world was more concerned (perhaps rightly so) with people liking his new care package! he doesn't want people to question why republicans are SO against it. 

Why are they so against the affordable healthcare act? has Obama once addressed this in public? no.

He gloats that “even though parts of the government are shut down, Obamacare is not” 

He over-simplifies important congressional discussions in terms of car loans and paying your mortgage. 

   In the end - Mr. Obama talked for three quarters of his address talking about his care package that he is obviously standing his ground on. 

   If you ask me, It looks to me that we need the ruskies in again. Sit down and have a look at both sides of this argument. Find all the facts about the bill that is bringing down a nation. The world might be a better place too if the government shutdown INCLUDED the massive drain on funds ‘the United States Army’ and maybe rethink the definition of ‘essential shutdowns’ and keep all sciences open and funded indefinitely. 



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Kanas City Shuffle - The Nairobi Mall

While the whole world is watching Kenya, and the tragedy that is playing out inside the Nairobi mall siege, am i the only one whose wondering ‘What is America getting away with this time?’

It seems that every time a global incident occurs or it becomes ‘necessary to intervene’ in another country America somehow has an agenda that serves some benefit. 

Vietnam, Iraq and more recently the Syria conflict Serve as examples of the ‘Worlds police’ using little disguise to muscle they’re way onto more resources.

Although Russia seems to have stepped in and saved Syria’s backsides, (and their brand new oil pipeline (completed in 2010) at the last moment). But its really all over the chemical weapons, isn’t it?

Resources are essential for growth but wealth is essential for stability. Plundering, Pillaging and Raping the world has provided an abundance of both it seems. However, this tact will inevitably make you a few enemies. 

Can a country really find a way to dis-credit their foes, earn money AND create reason to ‘intervene’ in another countries assets? Case-in-point 9/11. 

The largest bombing campaign on Afghanistan happened on the morning of september 11th 2001. We were all glued to the controlled demolition taking place in New York at the time.

The largest insurance policy for skyscrapers was taken out for the Twin towers. weeks before, in July 2001.

The so-called ‘War on terrorism’ that followed 9/11 ultimately led to public/congressional support prior to the Iraq war.

Kenyan civilians are the latest victims of needless violence. Thats a fact. They, along with countless more innocent people before them, serve as puppets in a global political game of ‘swapsies’ Your gold for our guns. My skyscrapers for his money. Their oil for our morals. Something like that.

Whether its billion dollar Insurance fraud or Brain washing populations or fear mongering propaganda or a kansas city shuffle. When i see a big news story unfolding I can’t help but wonder ‘What is America getting away with this time?’

Vietnam's Tourism Industry - Should it be left to the kids?

Here is an article I wrote for a website. heres a sneak peak...


The full un-diluted version of Vietnam blog is on it's way too!





Vietnam.

“Start in Hanoi, then work your way to Saigon. You’ll see a difference in the south” - A simple piece of advice given to me before becoming a tourist of this country. 

Hanoi Airport - August 2013 - My first time in Vietnam. Like most travellers my first priority was getting to the hotel. ‘This taxi drivers great!’ I thought - we’d been exchanging stories, it was a 40 minutes ride into town - so a little conversation goes a long way! Then conversation turned sour…

“Pay - You pay!” Insisting the toll booth we went through cost over ten times more than it did. He became visibly angry - raised his voice. The English he’d been chatting to me with had all been ‘forgotten’ and he became more animated in his demand.  

Now, I’m aware he must see hundreds of tourists a week - and, sadly, I have no doubt he thought by shouting i’d give in and pay. What took me by surprise was - this tact became a frequent occurrence - when dealing with anyone in trave

Employee’s of the tourism industry seem to have been given this handbook on dealing with us tourists.

• When ‘pointing’ and ‘one-syllable-directions’ fail - try raising your voice.

• If the offender still isn't doing what you expect - become more aggressive with your gestures. 

• Be as defensive as possible when challenged on any of your demands and Remember - when in doubt, just refuse to speak English.

In total, i rode five 12 hour ‘sleeper’ buses, and what i noticed was rather shocking. No matter when you got on, or where, it was a case of western people are at the back - natives are at the front. When sitting in a seat deemed ‘wrong’ (i.e too far forward) a staff member would repeat the steps from the guidebook i mentioned above. 

Once and only once did i attempt a Rosa-Parks-esque stand off. Refusing to move to the back of the bus. He became furious and told me to get off.

Im sure there are many reasons why in these particular cases - its just-so-happened - to be this way. But surely better people-skills are required. Surely better training could be given. Surely no-one deserves a verbal onslaught from a angry bus driver.

Funny, i thought, that in every other aspect Vietnam had proven to be exceptional. Hotel workers were some of the best i’d encountered. Street sellers were polite and easy-going. Restaurant staff were as good as the food (which in vietnam is very good indeed!).

Why then had the travel trade been left so far behind? Are us tourists really that bad? I needed to know, and strangely an answer came to me from an unlikely source.

Saigon's Parks are a breath of fresh air. You can see people learning to dance, outdoor martial artists giving lessons, dozens of children skating and students. Students of english - this generation of academics gave me hope for Vietnam’s tourism industry. What seems like the whole school - are out in the parks simply going up and talking to people. they are practising english.

My most enjoyable night was spent talking in the park. We talked about everything. We debated politics. We chatted about english traditions. We discussed patriotism. When i asked them how long they’d been doing this one lad they said that every night for over a year he’d been coming to talk to foreigners. when i asked why he did it he said… 

“If i learn English it means i can get a better job, i can go to university or even get a scholarship somewhere. i practise everyday because i want to get better, because i  learn new things and because i make new friends everyday.”

The advice i got about ‘people changing’ as i travel through vietnam - was true. I saw an attitude change. I saw a generation change but mostly I saw a thirst for knowledge - and a spark of passion in young people that i fail to see back in England. So if you ask me ‘what do you think of tourism in Vietnam?’ I’d say go, dive in and get to know the people behind the job description.

But be wary of Airport taxis!

Cambodia's Lies - through the eyes of a skeptic

Cambodia's Lies



Shocking isn’t it. Before you ever set foot in Cambodia - You have been lied to. True maybe for the whole world now-a-days. But this country is like a novel. One which the author got 300 hours in - realised the HUGE plot holes - and gave up.

I will ease you in. Start where I started. England (noteably not Cambodia) where I planned a trip around Asia…

Thailand - Cliché traveler destination. Might as well have a big ‘Start here’ printed on it.

Loas - Often mis-pronounced. Its between me and Vietnam.

Vietnam - There was a war here once. Lets see what the fuss is about.

Cambodia - Cheap. Buy things here before India.

That was (more or less) my itinarary. Based on both research and references. Somehow all failing to mention the corruption, the lies and the propoganda. I hope to amend this. Read this article and be fair warned!

The first lie. Go to Cambodia, it’s cheap. No, it’s not.

Don’t get me wrong - compare house prices, a weekly shop or a moped to those in the UK - Asia wins hands down. But of the four countries I mentioned - Cambodia was the most expensive.

Street food was double that in Thailand. The hotels matched prices of Saigon. Even the kids-with-a-million-sunglasses were extortionate. Why then was this - noticably - one of the poorest countries i have seen?

Who is all the money going to? - We’ll come to that.

The Second Lie. Go to Cambodia, the people are amazing.

Amazing is a strong adjective to use. You get the idea though. I was led to believe the citizens of Cambodia were what make this country great. 

Tourism is the countries biggest income. This is reflected in people. 

I imagined what the kids think. All they’ve seen is - western people must have a money tree! - I have little money… - these people need to give me their money!  

Its  tough, some 80% of all cambodians are under 30. Its hard to find an ‘old’ cambodian at all. Which suggests a free-rule for teenagers becoming impolite, deceitful and otherwise disengaged from visitors of Cambodia.

Of course this doesn't ring true for everyone. But when you visit you will see for yourself, and why wouldn't they be like that?! Poverty meets tourism - thats not a good film idea. There was actually a poster in a tourist guide that read 

“Children aren't the attraction. Think before visiting an orphanage”

This says it all about us tourists. The mentality of ‘wow, look - the third world. lets go see the children quick’ - Actually thats not too far off the truth. when you see a 60+ western man with a young cambodian girl on his arm. Gold around her neck and a distinct look of depression in her eye.   

A far cry from the youngsters of vietnam - thrilled to talk to a native englishman to improve their second language. 

The third lie. The worst lie. Cambodia’s history.

This one got to me. The representation of horrific events. I chose my words carefully.

Two out of the three highest grossing tourist attractions in the country are - ‘S-21 prison’ and ‘the killing fields’. In short - a brutal prison where genocidal khmer rouge tortured innocent people - and the fields they were taken to to be executed.

I found ‘the killing fields’ an ‘interesting’ place. It certainly does have a lot of human remains on display. you can pay to buy a flower, walk 5ft and place it down at the steps. (after you’ve paid to get there, get in and get the audio tour)

I found things here didn't quite add up though. Little things. Little inconsistencies here and there. Facts and figures changing. The awful propaganda film they play three times a day. The Kids selling bracelets.

More so i have to say about S-21 prison.

Once a school. Turned into a prison. Now a museum - asserting that most of what you see is exactly how it was found in 1979.

Here’s a list of discrepancies I found at s-21 -  

1. Block A is the first building you enter. Photos of the rooms ‘as they were found’ show the last 7 bodies in the prison tortured to death. The bodies now buried just outside the door in large memorials. 

Each of the photos are on display - in the room they were taken in. Set aside the awful quality of the photos and Windows appear to have moved. Something wasn't right.

2. Gallows stand tall in the Courtyard. A plaque states prisoners were hung by there wrists. Dunked in a vat of feces, then interrogated immediately.

S-21 is stated to be the most secret of the khmer rouge’s prisons. -Public gallows and feces dunking. In the capitol city. Not the most effective way to keep your secret prison secret.

3. Block B is now a memorial to the prisoners. Thousands of photos. Each one a prisoner of S-21. All murdered. All cataloged with names and numbers. - well this building puzzles me. 

The story goes (stated on the walls of block B) that the detainees arrived in a truck. Were measured. Then Photographed. Then Beat. Women were raped. Then Put in mass detention rooms. Later moved to individual cells. Tortured. Taken to the killing field. Killed. (Not necessarily in that order). 

Why then do the photographs show smiles on the faces of these inmates? who is happy to be led - handcuffed - into a prison complex - riddled in barbed wire - with gallows and huge buckets of poo - hearing screams of torture - seeing those in front of you beat and the women dragged off for rape. 

Smiling yet?

Some of the photos are poor quality, most are clear(all better then the ones taken after the prison was discovered - abandoned) 

For the displays some were blown up to around 8 times bigger then the original ‘little’ photos. Then, oddly, had been edited to look older. Tea stained and ripped. Yet the thousands of ‘little’ photos were fine? thats strange.

4. Block B also housed the Torture equiptment. Complete with Illustrations of how it was used. What confused me here was a water torture device. A large wooden box - similar to a coffin - only three times as wide. It would be filled with water and the poor man inside would be handcuffed to the metal bar inside. Forcibly ‘half-drowned’. 

10 years of use. 30 years later. Zero water damage. A wooden box, with iron shackles - constantly filled with water. 40 years on and it was as if never used.

5. The building that looked most visually interesting. Block C. Wrapped head-to-toe in barbed wire. Not just any barbed wire though - Barbed wire that was clearly not 40 years old.

Inside - shoddily constructed cells. Uneven and leaning over. maybe 200 3ft x 6ft cells.

The bricks were exactly the same as you see everywhere in cambodia. The concrete between the bricks - looked as new - as the concrete holding up the metal supports (Put in place by the museum to stop the cells falling like dominos).

6. Maybe this one goes down as the straw that broke my ‘skeptical’ back.

The Khmer rouge abandoned this facility. They were loosing a war and left S-21 behind them. Why then did they choose to leave… 

-Photographs and measurements of every murdered person.
-Photographs of Dead and tortured inmates.
-The names of every Khmer rouge that worked there.
-Documents, detailing interrogations (and torture) of every single inmate - Thousands of files - Signed by the wardens.  

All of that evidence was just ‘left behind’. The khmer rouge were, no-doubt a brutal force, but Stupid - they were not. 

I am therefor - of the opinion - that S-21 prison was indeed a prison at one point. However was probably not housing a grand total of 12,000 - 15,000 innocent inmates over its years (depending on which book you read)

I believe it is more likely that the whole thing was politically fabricated. Made up to serve a different purpose. Used as a propaganda tool.

Strangely, I later found out, this is also to belief of the oppositions leader in cambodia. However the last time he publicly said his opinion he was heavily and publicly berrated.  

The final lie of cambodia. One which isn't at all well hidden. The Government.


The corruption of a prime-minister (former Khmer rouge to-boot) and the trickling down ooze of corruption throughout every government owned entity. 

Hell - even the Cambodian anti-corruption agency is owned and run by the political party. Which makes me wonder what exactly they do all day in that office?

It is well know throughout the world as one of the most underhanded, unethical and unscrupulous regimes.

…But hey, Cambodia has got no natural resources the ‘worlds police-of america’ need to steal. There not threatening any one except there own population. There resisting, but following (in a shade of grey and 7 years late) the UN’s demands for equality. 



So lets let them be for now and all focus on Syria.