Tumbicastío, Michoacán Autodefensas and Special Forces: Closing in on El Chayo and La Tuta Mexican counter narco policies yield mixed results Three more found dead in southern Chihuahua state Mexico begins squaring military law with court rulings

Borderland Beat

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• Tumbicastío, Michoacán Autodefensas and Special Forces: Closing in on El Chayo and La Tuta
• Mexican counter narco policies yield mixed results
• Three more found dead in southern Chihuahua state
• Mexico begins squaring military law with court rulings

Tumbicastío, Michoacán Autodefensas and Special Forces: Closing in on El Chayo and La Tuta Posted: 02 Mar 2014 09:46 PM PST Chivis Martínez for Borderland Beat The Hunt for Chayo and La Tuta I  reported on Friday that Chayo was located at a specific ranch in Tumbicastio, Michoacán . After being reinstated as spokesman and leader for Tepalcatepec autodefensas, Dr Mireles was ratified as equal spokesman and leader of the autodefensas general council with Hipolito Mora and Papa Smurf.  Presently, that is the status of Dr. Mireles.  On Friday there occurred a meeting between autodefensas and the Feds.    Autodefensas have agreed to not engage in advancement of large cities, at this time.  Feds have agreed to send an elite team of Special Forces and satellite tracing equipment to the location of the discovery of Chayo.  La Tuta is also in that area.  Tumbicastío, an extremely remote area, with problematic accessibility, it is located high in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains at an elevation of 12, 600 ft.  Because having only two dirt mountain roads accessing Tumbicastío, people of the sierras have learned to use steep, treacherous access pathways to maneuver in and out of mountain roadway.   Dr . Mireles speaking to the crowd (Comunitario Octavio's foto) The dirt roads are no picnic in of themselves.  Snaking through the Sierra requires knowledge of the area or  an abundance of time.  This plays in favor of Caballeros Templarios who navigate the escape routes quickly permitting escape.  Due to the lack of knowledge in navigating the mountains, Federal forces have been stopped in their tracks, after  receiving information to the location of key Templarios leaders, namely Chayo and La Tuta.  Since Friday, the concentration of federal forces has been Tumbiscatío to Arteaga.  Bringing with them satellite equipment, heavy artillery and tanks.   For their part AD teams have accompanied Special Forces as they advance in to Tumbiscatio, and have stationed in points encircling the mountain range. Publically today, Dr. Mireles stated to reporters, that with  their  joint action with the Special federal forces, they  are close to capturing in Nazario Moreno González, aka "El Chayo" and with luck, also Servando Gomez, aka "La Tuta ". Dr. Mireles shared with reporters, including El Universal: "We are close to some leaders, "El Chayo", was on a ranch near Tumbiscatío" reports José Manuel Mireles.... But here at Borderland Beat readers already knew that “news” from our "source".   Dr. Mireles Calls for the Ouster of Infiltrators Dr. Mireles visited several communities today in an autodefensa caravan, reminiscent of his life prior to the airplane crash that left him in critical condition.   He is partially paralyzed and blinded in one eye.   Although he appears to have decided to forego his last two weeks of therapy, he seems rejuvenated from just a week ago, and appears stronger. He visited the site of the Los Reyes killings of 5 unarmed autodefensas, killed when Templarios open fired from rooftops.   Dr. Mireles, spoke to the crowd, had a moment of silence and left a bouquet of flowers on the black and white checkerboard tiled walkway where those killed fell. A part of his message today to the crowds, was to not be afraid to give information about infiltrators that wear the shirts of autodefensas, but who are criminal infiltrators.   Tomorrow Autodefensas will oust Apatzingán's Mayor Uriel Chávez  (El Chayo's nephew) Autodefensas report that tomorrow mayor Uriel Chávez will be removed from office.  He is charged as operating under the direction of Caballeros Templarios.  A new city council has been selected.   click on any image to enlarge

Mexican counter narco policies yield mixed results Posted: 02 Mar 2014 09:00 PM PST Col. Lopez Gutierrez By Chris Covert Rantburg.com As the Mexican border state of Coahuila claims a sharp drop in homicides fir the first two months of 2014, another state, Tamaulipas is claiming a spike in denunciations for crime, according to Mexican news accounts. According to a news compilation presented in the online edition of El Diario do Coahuila news daily, the Coahuila state Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE) or state attorney general announced that a double digit drop in homicides were reported in the state for the first two months of the year, when compared with the same period in 2013. Overall, intentional homicides (homicidios dolosos) dropped to 78 as opposed to 140 from 2013, a total of 44 percent.  Gang on gang murders have dropped by an even greater amount of 46 percent with 44 in 2014 and 81 in 2013. In Saltillo, which is the state capital of Coahuila, gang on gang murders dropped by 86 percent, while intentional homicides dropped 63 percent, six so far in 2014 as opposed to 16 in 2013.  No numbers were given on the number of gang on gang killings. In Torreon, gang on gang killings dropped from 54 incidents in 2013 to 23 in 2014.  A 49 percent drop in intentional homicides over have been recorded, with 69 deaths in 2013 as opposed to 35 in 2014. While the drops in homicides are impressive it is important to note that the Coahuila PGJE has cooked criminal statistics before by reporting false statistics to the federal government then taking those results and reporting them as fact. Even so, in Tamaulipas a senior Mexican Army command has reported an equally sharp spike in criminal incidents reported to their commands. According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of Milenio news daily, Colonel of Infantry Jesus Gabriel Lopez Gutierrez was quoted saying that while in the first two months of 2013 daily calls reporting criminal activities to their communications node averaged thee to five calls per day, the number of calls have increased dramatically going from between eight to ten calls per day. Col. Lopez Gutierrez is commander of the Mexican 15th Infantry Battalion which is responsible for security in southern Tamaulipas state, easily one of the most violent in Mexico. According to the report, more calls came from the urban municipalities of Tampico, Madero and Altamira, and fewer from  the rural areas of Altamira, Gonzalez and Aldama. Most of the calls received are calls already made to other security groups, while about a third relate to federal crimes.  The rest are either domestic reporting and reporting of traffic problems in southern Tamaulipas.  According to the report, the calls can last from 10 seconds to four minutes, depending on the amount of information received. The Colonel reported said that the spike in calls doesn't seem to correspond with an increase in crime.  According to the report, the increase of calls reflect local citizens' demand for better security. The Colonel also noted he was not aware of any timetable for the return of the army to the barracks, an early promise of the Enrique Pena Nieto administration from the 2012 campaign and last year.  That promise had been continually reiterated in Mexican press until the spring of 2013, when even top army commanders publicly admitted they were not to return to the barracks anytime soon. It is interesting to note that the Mexican Army has been in charge of security in southern Tamaulipas since May, 2011, which would coincide with the discovery of the San Fernando mass murders, which took the lives of 193. Chris Covert writes Mexican drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com andBorderlandBeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

Three more found dead in southern Chihuahua state Posted: 02 Mar 2014 09:00 PM PST A total of three individuals were killed or were found dead in drug and gang related violence in three separate incidents in southern Chihuahua state municipalities, according to Mexican news accounts. Saturday afternoon at around 1540 hours an  man was  shot to death in Hidalgo de Parral municipality, according to a news account published in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily. Emmanuel Ochoa Holguin, 27, was in the main bus depot in Zona Centro of Parral city, and about to board a bus bound for Ciudad Juarez when a two armed suspects ran up to him and started firing before several onlookers.  As soon as the victim fell, the shooters went to a black sedan with a third suspects driving, then fled the scene. According to a late news report, Ochoa Holguin had previously served time for drug related offenses in 2009 and 2011. Also in Parral, two Chihuahua state ministerial agents interviewed a suspect who was drunk at the bar La Estrella in Morelos colony, who confessed to the murder of an unidentified individual a few days ago, according to a separate El Diario de Chihuahua news report. After searching for two hours in San Jose colony in the village of Santa Rosa, the police found the victim who was in an advanced stage of decomposition. A third unidentified individual was found shot to death in southern Mexico. One unidentified man was found shot to dead in Bocoyna municipality Friday afternoon, according to a new report in El Diairo de Chihuahua. The victim was found on a road between the village of Viveros and  Situriachi Dam shot once in the head. Chris Covert writes Mexican drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com andBorderlandBeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

Mexico begins squaring military law with court rulings Posted: 02 Mar 2014 09:00 PM PST Senadora Gonzalez Gomez By Chris Covert Rantburg.com Almost two and a half years after the July 2011 decision by the Mexican Suprema Cort de Justicia de la Nacion (SCJN) that international treaty obligation concerning human rights can take precedence over Mexican law, talks and committee meetings between military and senators continue that could lead to laws that balance Mexican law with international law, according to Mexican press accounts. A news report which appeared in the online edition of Milenio news daily said that several military staff admitted that the nature of fighting against narcotraffickers has let to some human right violations, and have been "inevitable". The lead in the senate to deal with military justice reform is Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) senator Arely Gomez Gonzalez, who has been holding hearings on this as well as other legal reforms since last fall.  But these meetings were not the first.  A quick meeting just after the 2011 SCJN decision was held between senators and the military. Last September, according to a news account which appeared in El Mexicano news daily, the senator declared that five meeting between senators and Mexico's senior military staff would take place to discuss "the balance between the protection of human rights and military discipline, with all the practical consequences that this entails..." In Friday's meeting military staff from the Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), the controlling agency for the Mexican Army and Secretaria de Marina (SEMAR) have both admitted that human rights violations, while rare have occurred in the past. Contradmirante Alejandro Vazquez Hernandez, director of the Justicia Naval de la Unidad Juridica told senators Friday, "We were asked to clean house, and now we are told we only dusted.  It is clear in some instances there have been human rights violations, but it is inevitable because of the fighting." The Admiral was referring to the 2011 SCJN ruling that conflated international human rights treaty obligations with Mexican law, a ruling which has gained severe criticism -- as well as acquiescence -- from military staff as well as field commanders.  That ruling said that anytime a civilian killed, though not involved in an exchange of gunfire, as an example, that case must be turned over the local civilian authorities to assess culpability and that military prosecutor must declare their lack of competence in proceeding with a case. At the time it was feared that the ruling would flood civilian courts with human rights cases directed against the military, but according to a Mexican Army staffer, the results have been different than feared. According to military prosecutor Jesus Gabriel Lopez Benitez, a large number of cases have been declined even when kicked upstairs to the national attorney general, 434 in total. A total of 434 preliminary investigations were moved to the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) or national attorney general, which resulted in 271 arrest warrants.  Of those arrest warrants, 174 of them were for military personnel, including commanders as well as enlisted personnel, the rest civilians.  That has occurred because military prosecutors -- of which the Mexican Army maintains 108 separate offices -- now routinely decline prosecution for offenses against civilians in favor of civilian prosecutors. He said that the current system bypasses normal military discipline "as necessary, so indispensable in the Army, Navy and Air Force." "We are most jealous guardians of military discipline and behaviors that do not allow violations [which would] cast doubt on the good image of the institution", said  Lopez Benitez. Another problem for Mexico's military has taken place where, when a civilian prosecutor has been called to investigate the case of a civilian death from a military mission, for example, the circumstances has changed because now soldiers and everyone involved in an incident must deal with a separate element which was not involved in the original incident. The situation has created uncertainty in the ranks of prosecutors because now they do not know if they have the "legal certainty", as General Alejandro Ramos Flores, head of theAsesoria Juridica del Estado Mayor de la Defensa Nacional said, to properly perform their jobs. The 2011 SCJN ruling came from years of haranguing by human rights groups who stated repeatedly that military units cannot investigate their own if a crime has taken place involving military personnel.  Another more subtle charge by human rights groups, absurd on its face, is that because a military is involved with killing, it must be incapable of seeking justice for victims. The base that was brought before SCJN was of Radilla Pacheco  a radical peasant organizer who was detained by the Mexican Army in Guerrero state in 1974, and never heard from again.  That detention and subsequent disappearance took place in the depth of Mexico's Guerra Sucioor Dirty War, when a succession of Mexican presidents beginning in 1967, used their military to harshly crush political dissent as well as against armed revolutionary elements. During that time, according to statistics, about 1,200 disappeared, presumably all at the hands of Mexican security forces. Just after the 2011 ruling Calderon has advanced changes to the  Codigo de Justicia Militar(CDM), specifically to Article 57 which would remove forced disappearances, rape and torture among the offense that can be prosecuted under that code by military prosecutors. To date no element of that specific proposal has been advanced, however last fall proposals were advanced to make changes to the CDM.  According to an archived news account inMilenio last fall, senator Gomez Gonzalez has overseen discussions on some changes including establishing a separate court system including military judges and expanding the range of offenses.  The report failed to detail which offenses would be included with those that can be prosecuted by the military. The 2011 court ruling also placed it in direct conflict with another part of the Mexican Constitution Article 13, which states that a Mexican citizen can be charged with one crime in more than one jurisdiction. Article 13 prevents a legal condition of having an accused to defend against the same act more than once. A government draft report released at the time said that military prosecutions do fulfill the requirements of international treaties, despite political charges that it can never do that. A Mexican naval captain,  Mario Augusto Chichitz Diaz Leal, suggested a change in Article 57 which would allow the military top punish its own personnel a crime has been prosecuted. The problem with implementing the 2011 court ruling is more subtle that what can be shown in any statistics, and any further legislative refinement in favor of international treaties could hurt military discipline in the long run. According to Captain Chichitz Diaz Leal, "Any proposal for reform that goes beyond this concept, we consider that it would be unnecessary and detrimental to the well armed institute would run whenever the expense of maintenance of discipline, which is the fundamental basis on which a professional army is, effective and efficient." it is so far unclear in current Mexican press where reforms are to land.  Mexican senators involved on this issue just prior to hearing from the military heard from human rights groups and Mexican academics -- both groups long antagonists to the very notion of a military -- so is also unclear how much influence the military can have in the area of fighting organized crime. Chris Covert writes Mexican drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com andBorderlandBeat.com  He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

Political Aphorisms. Will try not to forget to include...

 

Political Aphorisms

 

 
If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.

 

~Jay Leno~
 

 

The problem with political jokes is they get elected.

 

~Henry Cate, VII~
 

 

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office

 

~Aesop~

 

If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these State of the Union speeches, there wouldn't be any inducement to go to heaven.

 

~Will Rogers~

 

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

 

~Nikita Khrushchev~

 

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it.

 

~Clarence Darrow~
 

 

Why pay money to have your family tree traced; 
 go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.

 

~Author unknown~
 

 

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, 
 go out and buy some more tunnel.

 

~John Quinton~
 

 

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, 
 by promising to protect each from the other.

 

~Oscar Ameringer~
 

 

I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, 
 I will stop telling the truth about them.

 

~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952~
 

 

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.

 

~ Tex Guinan~
 

 

I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

 

~Charles de Gaulle~
 

 

Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.

 

~Doug Larson~
 

 

There ought to be one day -- just one -- when there is open season on Congressmen

Reflecting… This is all factually (and historically) correct -- and verifiable if one would decide to do some research toward that end… if you even go back further… in 732 AD the Moslem Army which was moving on Paris was defeated and turned back at Tours, France, by Charles Martell.

                    
… in 1571 AD the Moslem Army / Navy was defeated by the Italians and Austrians as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to attack southern Europe in the Battle of Lapanto.
                    
… in 1683 AD the Turkish Moslem Army, attacking Eastern Europe, was finally defeated in the Battle of Vienna by German and Polish Christian Armies.
                        
… this crap has been going on for 1,400 years and half of these damn politicians don't even know it!  If these battles had not been won we might be speaking Arabic and Christianity could be non - existent; Judaism certainly would be... And let us not forget that Hitler was an admirer of Islam and that the Mufti of Jerusalem was Hitler's guest in Berlin and raised Bosnian Muslim SS Divisions: the 13th and 21st Waffen SS Divisions who killed Jews, Russians, Gypsies, and any other "subhumans".
        
Reflecting

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine that America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves.

                
Pause a moment, reflect back.  These events are actual events from history. They really happened!  Do you remember?
  1.In 1968 , Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by a Muslim male.  

    2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by  Muslim males.
    3. In 1972 a Pan Am 747 was hijacked and eventually diverted to Cairo where a fuse was lit on final approach and it was blown up shortly after landing by Muslim males.

    4. In 1973 a Pan Am 707 was destroyed in Rome, with 33 people killed, when it was attacked with grenadesby Muslim males.
    5. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by Muslim males.
    6. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by Muslim males.
    7. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by Muslim males.
    8. In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by Muslim males.

    9. In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers

        was murdered by Muslim males.
    10. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by Muslim males.
    11. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by Muslim males.
    12. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim males.
    13. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take down the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by Muslim males.

    14. In 2002, the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against Muslim males.
    15. In 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and beheaded by -- you guessed it -- Muslim males.
    16. In 2013, Boston Marathon Bombing 4 Innocent people including a child killed, 264 injured by Muslim males.
            

            
No, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?  So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people.

        
Absolutely No Profiling!  They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males, alone lest they be guilty of profiling.
      

Have the American people completely lost their Minds, or just their Power of Reason?

        
Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Allreds and other stupid attorneys along with Federal Justices who want to thwart common sense, feel ashamed of themselves -- if they have any such sense.

      

As the writer of the award winning story "Forrest Gump" so aptly put it, "Stupid Is As Stupid Does"

        
Each opportunity that you have to send this to a friend or media outlet… Do It!

OR SIT BACK, JUST KEEP BITCHING AND DO NOTHING.Remember this, the next time Obama praises Islam and appoints Muslim Brotherhood- connected people to Presidential staff positions, and don't forget Hilary Clinton while Sec. of State, her highest ranking aide was the daughter of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

We'd better take our head out of a hole in the ground and get involved to stop this.

 

 

2014 OSCAR RESULTS

One Citizen Speaking...

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2014 OSCAR RESULTS Posted: 02 Mar 2014 09:13 PM PST Welcome to the 2014 Oscars, where self-indulgent douchebags, mostly progressive socialist liberal democrats, try to convince themselves and others that what they do is “art” and that they are somehow above the fools that were employed to entertain the “royals” and their sycophants at court events. And the Oscar goes to .... Best Picture:  "12 Years a Slave" Best Supporting Actor:  Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"  Best Supporting Actress:  Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave"  Best Director:  Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity" Best Actor:  Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyer's Club"  Best Actress:  Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"  Best Original Screenplay:  "Her"  Best Adapted Screenplay: "12 Years a Slave" Best Animated Feature:  "Frozen"  Best Foreign Feature:  "The Great Beauty," Italy  Best Visual Effects:   "Gravity"  Best Cinematography:  "Gravity"  Best Costume Design:  "The Great Gatsby"  Best Documentary Feature:  "20 Feet from Stardom"  Best Documentary Short:  "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life"  Best Film Editing:  "Gravity"  Best Makeup and Hairstyling:  "Dallas Buyers Club" Best Music (Original Score):  "Gravity"  Best Music (Original Song):  "Let It Go" from "Frozen"  Best Production Design:  "The Great Gatsby"  Best Short Film, Animated:  "Mr. Hublot"  Best Short Film, Live Action:  "Helium"  Best Sound Editing:  "Gravity"  Best Sound Mixing:  "Gravity"  Funny ... Ellen Degeneres said that this year's theme is "Heroes in Hollywood." Can you even begin to imagine the irony of a Hollywood where everyone is scared of everyone else and the only helping hand ever extended is to push someone else under the bus lest they get the gig you wanted? How very politically correct to have a moderately funny lesbian as a headliner – as these actors and others put on yet another show to convince America and others that these people actually care about the nation they denigrate and demean. How revealing is it to have a team of writers sweating backstage and providing real-time comedic takes for the hosts to use as if the host were doing anything more witty than reading a TelePrompTer. I guess the funniest performances that are given no Oscars are the faux greetings between the well-paid shallow, self-absorbed actors and the well-paid douchebag executives that pretend that they know what will make a entertaining, informative, and profitable motion picture. Pretty much why these genius executives turn to bankable stars of the moment, sequels, prequels, and spin-offs rather than green-light truly original material. Of course, the funniest inside Oscar joke is the one that they never tell the “flyover country” audience, that the Oscar show is produced by the velvet mafia for the velvet mafia. The first joke of the evening was a lesbian Ellen Degeneres acknowledging Jonah Hill (who bared it all in the film Wolf of Wall Street), saying "Honestly, you showed us something in that film that I have not seen for a very, very long time." A not-so-subtle reference to his penis.  Compounded by coming out of a commercial break and Ellen saying to Jonah, "No, I don't want to see it." I have not changed my mind much from the 2009 Oscars … For most people, the annual OSCAR’s telecast is entertainment … Another chance to see narcissistic actors (no more actors and actresses now, they are all politically correct genderless “actors”) and the people who create their fantasy lives involved in a real-life soap opera. For some, a chance to worship celebrity, the so-called “American royalty where name and face recognition is more important than the acts that propelled them to the stage. An intersection between the sane and insane, the famous and the infamous. Another chance for social interaction where people discuss the odds of this or that person (or film) winning the prize. To see how people looked on the red carpet. Waiting in anticipation for the faux pas or gaffe – and perhaps a full meltdown or wardrobe malfunction. And some actually believe that the night is not just another Hollywood self-celebratory congratulatory “see and be seen” affair and is about rewarding actual achievement. But the truth is far different. First and foremost, this is a money-spinning venture that helps to fund the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The worldwide television rights to this event are expensive – and do not, as many believe, flow to fund charities. Second and even more important, this is a mass-marketing event; a chance to further publicize the wares of those who inhabit the “fictional” Hollywood. To create additional buzz. To drive people who would not normally patronize the movies to see films which are hardly worth the $100 or so it takes to go to the movies today. (With the cost of tickets, parking, popcorn, dinner, baby-sitter, etc.) Why else would studios, production companies and the performers themselves spend great sums of money promoting their performance and product? Answer: for commercial advantage, of course. Just another night of worldwide publicity to hawk their wares.  But it is all Hollywood smoke and mirrors … Hollywood is a mythical place. Where smoke and mirrors create bankable illusions. Where you are what you say you are and personal and professional re-invention and rehabilitation after a major stumble is de rigueur. Where your house, car, clothes and accessories are only props to move your personal story forward to capturing more money, sex and power. Hollywood is a state of mind that really does not exist. Twentieth Century Fox is in West Los Angeles. MGM is in Culver City. Disney is in Burbank. Only Paramount and Universal actually are in and around the old Hollywood. In actuality, Hollywood was a dirty, grimy place where streetwalkers openly plied their trade and tourists came to marvel at the facade the was said to be famous. Now, through the help of your tax dollars, Hollywood is making a comeback, it is being re-vitalized into another money-making tourist trap for those who want to believe. But the famed studios themselves are controlled by large conglomerates and filming takes place far away from the fabled studio lots of yore. But it is even worse than you might imagine … Hollywood represents the home of the politically correct. The multi-millionaire limousine liberals who own multiple mansions, cars, yachts and planes and who want to tell you how to live in order to preserve the planet. The people who need to dictate how we live to give their own lives relevance and meaning – perhaps to convince themselves that they are actually worth the millions they are paid for whatever talents they need to mouth the words of others with enough sincerity to make them believable. And, for the more cynical among you, another chance at self-promotion – to be seen doing “good works” and becoming a beloved ambassador to the world’s potential audiences. These are the far-left, liberal democrats who fund the causes that are moving American life beyond the bounds of main street America. Unless you have grown up in this atmosphere, it is unlikely that you will see reality in exactly the same way that people from Manhattan to Malibu see it: special privileges for those who are wealthy, famous or simply powerful because of their current position as the head of this or that studio. An assault on our freedoms … Truth be told, Hollywood is not as much about preserving our freedoms, as it is about converting our freedoms into their own special privileges. In the guise of fighting content piracy, Hollywood has pursued draconian laws which now impact almost every citizen in the United States. How many people realize that recording and motion pictures are internally coded with identifying information? And that your computer and electronic devices which read and/or reproduce this content are forced, by law, to have circuitry and software which recognizes this coding and responds accordingly – tagging each copy you make with your identifying information along with the original source of the content? For many years, you could not purchase a digital recorder in this country – until these recorders contained the requisite safeguards against content counterfeiting. How many people realized that each blank CD contained a hidden royalty that was paid into a fund that was to compensate artists for purloined content and which was divided up among the big record producers and others who could exert a claim on these funds in proportion to the creative product they produced? How many people realized that Hollywood, more than any other party, sought to nullify the original copyright compact that was made by the American people: a monopoly on profiting from your content in exchange for putting the work into the public domain after a specific period of time?  With Hollywood pushing the time for monopolistic exploitation further and further out – primarily to keep commercially profitable works from falling into the public domain. And when that was not enough, to institute the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which criminalized the breaking of the electronic wrapper protecting any content – even that content which was already in the public domain. How many people realize that Hollywood attempted to subvert the Justice Department into becoming its investigatory and prosecution arm to ferret out and punish content piracy – shifting the burden of these commercial and civil costs to the American people? I, for one, am not willing to exchange a few moments of diversion or pleasure for a reduction in my freedoms. As a content creator, I have seen my work reproduced and handed out by people in the government who should have known better. It is a fact of life that there will be those who want to use your product or services without payment. In some instances, personal use, not mass sharing or commercial distribution, some exchange of materials is to be permitted and even encouraged. Think of buying a book and loaning it to your friend. Perfectly acceptable. Especially considering that I donate my unwanted books, CDs and DVDs to my local library. Now consider re-printing the digital version of the book and distributing it to all your friends: definitely not cool. And if you do it for some form of profit – you should be prosecuted. But, that is not to say that I am willing to allow big brother to monitor my actions and invade my privacy just to prevent this from happening. In this regard, I support the closure of mass file-sharing systems and the protection of digital content. All with due process. And, hopefully under an international law which supports my ownership claims. But I draw the line at the invasion of my privacy – just to prevent a “potential occurrence of copyright infringement.” Bottom line .. So before you worship that character and/or the actor who might play a cool part – consider that it is all smoke and mirrors. The actor is not the person they are portraying. Minus the script, many of these actors are unbelievably stupid or naive. Others are downright self-absorbed and narcissistic while others are self-loathing, paranoid or extremely fragile in terms of self-esteem. Not exactly your everyday, hard-working, tax-paying citizen whose collective services are crucial to the survival of the world -- the unsung heroes who defend our country and keep the wheels of commerce moving. So, should you want to maintain the proper perspective on Hollywood and its denizens, just remember the answer to a simple riddle. When is a star not a star? The answer says it all: when there is a bigger star in the room. Take care of yourself and your family first. Be safe and be well. -- steve  Could Harrison Ford have shown any less emotion with his introduction to the first of the films nominated for best picture?  His lifeless, deadpan delivery of "riveting and rauccous, it's a wild exhilarating ride" left me wondering if Indiana Jones was ready to kick the bucket. Time to go somewhere else to avoid this sad display of narcissim. -- steve

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE COMCAST - TIME WARNER CABLE MERGER AND ITS IMPACT ON CUSTOMERS Posted: 02 Mar 2014 02:58 PM PST When comedians are not being liberals, they sometimes tell the truth ...   All I can say is that "many a truth is spoken in jest." Just ask Hillary Clinton who has "taken responsibility" for the Administration's failure in Benghazi. Perhaps "We the People" should provide the consequences by turning our back on a corrupt, lying, cheating, aging politician and telling her what we really think about her and her cheating husband at the ballot box. Imagine what Bill Clinton can do as the "First Dude" when the Wife is out playing politics with our future? How many bedrooms can he use in an afternoon? Think reponsibly ... Steve