As Israel shoves
thousands of troops into Lebanon�s face to trash as much of the country as it
can before a cease-fire, Tony boy Blair swept into Frisco to attend George and
Charlotte Shultz�s swanky pad for a cocktail party. He kicked off his five-day
West Coast tour rubbing shoulders with America�s richest men. Olive, Tony?
The bash was
arranged by George Schultz, who served Presidents Nixon and Reagan, was adviser
to the Bush II 2000 campaign and continues to be a GOP strategist. Mrs. Schultz
provided the gush and glitz. Among the 90 guests, were �Call Chuck Schwab�
stockbroker tycoon, Phil Bronstein (Sharon Stone�s media baron ex), and heavies
from Chevron, Yahoo and Wells Fargo Bank, to mention a few.
Supposedly, Tony
(how tony) was there at taxpayer expense to promote British trade interests,
though the Tories flailed him for using the trip as a job op. After all,
Schultz, 85, is still California�s shaker sina qua non. His paid interests
include JP Morgan, Schwab and management consultants Accenture. He is the man
who vetted Junior for the presidency, Schwarzenegger for the governorship and
folded Condi into the fold at Stanford.
More, he is the
ex-president and director of Bechtel, the construction behemoth that was been
swallowing contracts on Iraq and been accused of being able to pull strings at
Downing Street. The San Francisco-based company helped develop Blair�s new
nuclear power strategy as well. Despite insider intelligence, Bechtel�s been
approved to bid for potentially juicy radioactive waste clean-up projects.
Bechtel is also
slavering to build the 2012 London Olympic Village and the Crossrail project
linking East and West London. Group Chairman Riley Bechtel was given a CBE
award in foreign honors for services to �UK-American commercial relations,� not
to mention lining Bechtel�s pockets.
Schultz, a major
puppeteer in the Repuglican outfit, still whispers to Junior on foreign policy.
He was a leading hawk for �preemptive� war on Iraq and of course now recommends
the same punishment for Iran.
Schultz a Senior Figure at Bohemian Grove
The Grove is the
secret club that US political elite (and friends like Tony) attend annually,
men only. At Bohemian Grove, a 2,700-acre redwood forest in Monte Rio,
California, described
as a homosexual nudist compound by Alex Jones, there are accommodations for
2,000 people to �camp� (and I use the term advisedly). Among the rituals,
partaken by some of your former presidents, is an annual symbolic child
sacrifice to Molech Lucifer Satan, before the effigy of a giant predatory owl.
Tony, keep your back to the wall or the trees.
Bohemian Grove is
described in my article, �Keeping Hunter
Thompson�s death alive.� The sections �The Owl Rises� and �The Cremation of
Care Ritual� are of particular relevance. The overtone of pedophilia which has
characterized past Grove events is somewhat startling, so be warned. I guess
this is how the big boyz relax. Welcome, Tony.
In fact, Schultz�s
party at his $5 million dollar apartment, 999 Green Street, Penthouse 1, was
said to have been peppered with guests who had left the Grove shindig just to
meet Tony. Maybe they can get him there for the weekend�s festivities.
Moreover, if Blair
ever needs to chuck British politics, the well-paying West Coast lecture
circuit would love to plug him in. In fact, after the Schultz blast, he will be
the guest of honor at a �get-to-know-you� hosted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
at Getty Villa in Malibu. Anglophile business leaders are lining up for
invitations.
Blair will also be
flag-waving for BP chief Lord Browne of Madingley, eager himself to sound off
the oil giant�s new �ethical� and �green� claims amply spun in their print and
TV advertising campaigns.
What�s more, BP�s
Downing Street troubleshooter, Anji Hunter, (at �250,000 per annum) may be
followed by the PM as a non-executive director. Like the famous credit card�s
tag line, �The possibilities are endless.�
Unfortunately,
those nasty Tories say the taxpayer-tabbed trip was to generate income to pay
for Blair�s �3.6 million mortgaged London home. Transport spokesman Chris
Grayling noted, �People see him as increasingly out of touch and preparing for
resignation. That is neither a good thing for Britain nor the reputation of his
own Government.�
Ah, but not to
worry, Mr. Grayling. There�s always the Carlyle Group. They love ex-PMs,
ex-presidents, ex-secretaries of state, all the wheel-men who can turn the big
deals in fortune management and arms procurements. Tony will land safely right
in the groove, I mean Grove.
The question is
what will happen to Lebanon as the 7,000-man, and growing, Israeli force
attempts to digest it, and the pictures of dead civilians, men, women,
children, infants, cross my computer screen, and then most obscene: pictures of
Israeli kids signing bombs headed for Lebanon.
It is strange time
indeed to be alive, though not stranger probably than Hunter could have
imagined, as the Haves and Have-Mores attempt to engulf and devour the
Have-Nots and Have-Some. But somewhere, I know, it is written, �The meek shall
inherit the earth.� And somehow, fool for love that I am I believe that. I
guess that narrows my employment opportunities in many sectors, but opens up
vast opportunities in others. So it goes. I�ll sit with the angels any day.
Jerry Mazza is a
freelance writer living in New York. Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.