Semper Fi Off the Top Please
 

So when I walk into my barber's "booth", there are at least two defense implements within reach. I think the baseball bat with splinters or the rusty ball peen hammer are my favorites (he rotates the other death weapons at whim). I have asked him before, what the particular purpose of those tools happens to be, and he replied "for when I need to defend my-self".

My barber served in the Marine Corps. He has pictures all over the place. I never asked him which theater he served in, but he goes silent/still for a couple of seconds at the mention of the word "Marine". This makes military conversation difficult, and risky. One due to the various weapons strewn all over the place, and two due to the fact that he has a full length barber's razor to my neck for half the experience. Not an opportune moment to trigger a flashback.

With that said, he is one of the nicest, and genuine, people I know. I have never felt like I am about to be in a fight at his place. However, if a fight does erupt I'm sure it will be someone stranger against my-self and my barber.

Remember to say thank you to a service person today.

KONY is mild stuff....
 

I'm happy to hear that we, as a nation, are finally starting to understand this African Warlord fiasco. This has been going on for quite a while (literally for several decades).

Below is a link to the vice bus film on Liberia. This country has a long and sad history, and it is directly tied to the actions of the US. If you have the stomach for wretched states of existence then I strongly suggest that you watch all 6 parts of this movie. It's heartbreaking to the point where this stuff looks made-up and unreal.

These smaller African countries suffered political uprisings during the 70's and 80's. The final results are chaotic states which are broken down into feudal territories. Former generals and strongmen controlling blocks of major cities. These warlords recruit children as young as 6, pump them full of drugs, and pretty much use them as militarized gangs.

This is the story of General Butt Naked (his official name), who fought with other warlords while .... being butt naked. (don't worry he was bullet proof due to the magical spell that was put on him from eating the flesh of a child.)

You can enjoy all of Butt Naked's exploits versus other famed Liberian Warlords like General Mosquito, General Mosquito Spray, and of course General Rambo. I wish I was making this up.

The Vice Guide To Travel - Liberia - Part 1 - YouTube

Keith is right.... Sarcasm aside, let's just off the bastard today. How hard is it to sneak a hitman into the place? Just pay someone $100.00 to do it today. I'm sure another Kony isn't ready to take his place at all. One dead monster, and the entire country will learn its lesson.

Let's kill 20 of the worst warlords there. It's not like that's what got this whole mess going in the first place.

Keith probably meant for the sarcasm to not be put aside...

In high school, I used to get my hair cut at the ghetto barbershop in the neighboring town of Irvington, NJ. It was mostly black, with a few latinos, and once in a blue moon, a white man with hip-hop affiliations would wander in. The trouble was that people would come in off the street and try to sell DVDs and shit. The barbers and patrons would always have to shoo them away and keep them from assailing everyone to buy some probably-stolen merchandise. Every now and then, someone would storm in high on crack (most likely) and everyone would drop what they were doing and physical throw this guy out. Strangely, we all got used to it after a while.

I was never worried about getting into a fight with another patron, but you'd see the various barbers get pretty nasty with one another in trying to get a customer to choose him. It was rather like the barking comedians at the club, where they'd have to sit out front and say "You gettin' a cut? I got you. I got you."

Okay, a more well-informed woman from Uganada gives her thoughts on the Kony 2012 movement and Invisible Children.

This video is less superficial.



And this is Rosebell Kagumire's full video:

Thank you, but you already wasted 6 minutes of my time. You'll understand if I can't afford wasting 15 more.

So her problem isn't with the mind-controlling child twister that lives hidden in the bush. She wants to make sure that the continent doesn't get some unwarranted opinion stigma started by rumors of mind-controlling child twisters living in the bush....

What PR firm does she work for?

The film ends with ... "This message sponsored by concerned children soldiers for J. Kony."

In my defense, I paused the show to send the email before you guys started talking about the video I emailed you.

All I'm saying is that I think there is more to this story than meets the eye.

With most Ugandans agreeing that Kony hasn't been an issue in at least 5 years, and may even be dead, I think there is something we're missing.

Propaganda is a real thing, and I'm not sure what side is pushing their propaganda the hardest, but the "Kony 2012" video is just a mashup of a video created in 2006 (not 2012), and the sassy girl made her video without any special effects (or 10 other people producing music, sound effects, etc), and it is a 2012 video.

I'm not sure which side to be on, but I'm willing to admit that. I just don't jump on one side because the "media" told me to.

And everyone agrees that we're not sure where he is... Do we need another manhunt for someone that by the locals comments hasn't been a problem in years.

How much in debt is the USA in now? How many wars do we currently have running? Should we go in further debt over another "boogyman" who hasn't done anything in 5+ years?

I say if he threatens us in a real way (with some sort of military power), we should take him out, but otherwise lets get ourselves out of debt, and raise the value of the US dollar again first... Then we can go be bullies again.