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I read an article awhile ago by a linguist who suggested the ancient Italic people were Turkic, due to linguistic similarities. As you probably know, there are a number of assertions, including that of some Romans themselves, that they were originally refugees from Troy, or the areat hereabouts. I am guessing they combined the Latins with themselves in that assertion. It seems that the Etruscans were possibly a Turkic people if I remember correctly, or was that Celtic? I know they used the ancient Celtic design of concentric circles in art and jewelry, an example of which my grandmother owned as a charm in her "bulla bag." Although many would classify this Turkic origination theory as part of their mythological system, I find it interesting that it complements the theory postulated by the linguist, mentioned above. My ancestors, the Aurunci people, who were subsequently absorbed by the Romans in the 250's B. C. or around there, (since they lived at that time about 40 km south of Rome), were archeologically traced to islands off the southwestern coast of italy, and then were traced where they finally migrated to the area called Monte Aurunci, which overlooks the peninsula of Gaeta, (ancient "Hades" in Greek, supposedly the first Greek settlement in Italy), and Formia, which was a well known Roman city at which Cicero had a villa and where his tomb is still existant. My grandmother told me 60 years ago that she and her mother used to walk down Monte Aurunci with baskets of figs, lemons and olives on their heads to sell at the market in Gaeta on Tuesdays. Gaeta olives, which are famous, are actually from Maranola, which is a suburb village on the mountain, 2 km from Formia. Formia, by the way, was the ancestral home of John Cabot, (Giovanni Cabotto), whose family had a trading office in England. As you recall, he was credited, (forget the Danes for a moment), with discovery of part of Canada for the English. It is often asserted, (do a "Google" search for example), that he was Genovese. So, why, I ask, does the British Counsel make a ceremonial visit to Formia during the festival they have for Giovanni Cabotto? There are so many erroneous "facts" which are often self-delusional assertions or disguised propaganda by so-called "authorities" in History. For example, that the U. S. revolution was for "liberty" when really it was the local oligarchs taking control of territory and the local economy. As someone with a graduate degree in History and who was also deluded for most of my adult life, I can confidently say now, at 70 years of age, that seeing my fellow man in a condition of economic and political despair sheds a whole new light on the reality of the past and present. I believe with all my heart that the interpretations of History which we were taught were and still are bullshit. It was nothing but self-delusion and deliberate deception to mask the reality of oligarchs struggling among themselves to control people, and therefore wealth and the pride of power. It has been and will always be the haves vs. the have nots, though I think that periodically the have-nots gain champions from the among the oligarchs who provide them with temporary respite, (like Caesar or Franklin D. Roosevelt for example.) Life is basically a struggle to survive for most humans. The brief period of the rise of the middle class which occurred between 1946 and 1980 was an aberration which is now over. The techies and financial experts who now comprise (temporarily) are basically uneducated from a liberal arts point of view, and so they do not count on the plus side of the scale of civilization. Now we have global oligarchy and mass control. The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Italy should leave the EU and rid themselves of the control of their government, economy and institutions by German bankers. The Danes, a wonderfully capable and bright people, should take the hint and go their own way. The EU is a form of economic imperialism, and the working class Brits who suffered under it, (and of course the Greeks who were politically enslaved by bankers), understand that, if even in a rather primitive manner. The Spanish and Italian public know it is on balance a negative drag on their independence and culture. The return of the EU to its original Common Market design will hurt the small number of remaining middle class in the more developed countries of Europe, but it is necessary to take back one's soverignty from the pawns of the oligarchs in Brussels. They are bullshitting people into thinking the current EU is a good thing, but they are of course the tools of bankers. Spain declared bankcruptcy several times under the Hapsburgs, (Filipe II I remember) and they survived. I think Greece should have thrown the finger at the bankers, taken their medicine, and re-gained their dignity and self-determination, if even at the cost of financial distress. Better to live free as a lion for one day than be screwed constantly by the oligarchs as a lamb.

Some of my work colleagues are not too impressed with me right now. Pfah. As if I care. The reason is that one of the youngsters is having his birthday celebration today and I have no intention of turning up. Truth is he's always kept me at arms length as it were, and never really conversed with me. No problem, but his big party is therefore of no importance to me whatsoever. Another colleague attempted to persuade me to turn up during the queue for the end of day attendance scan - I told him I was indifferent and why, right in front of the whole shift. I certainly don't mind carousing but as an afterthought? No, I don't need popularity like youngsters do, and I don't need to get drunk just to have a good time. Get A New One Once in a while the top boss in a huge multi-national corporation will pop in and look around. As you might expect, when there's a threat of someone important wandering around the workplace, managers suddenly get very insistent on tidiness and activity. If you work for a Japanese company as I do, the issue is worse, because they have all sorts of expectations. Even if you work in a warehouse full of dust producing cardboard packaging and oil soaked parts, workers must be clean and spotless. I discovered this on my way back from break as a pair of managers assessed everyone passing by for adherence to uniform code. I failed because my hi-vis was a little dust and oil marked by lots of activity (I'm not the cleanest worker in the world as I prefer to get things done). Okay, I admit it, it was no longer a bright yellow but instead had become a sort of faded cammo pattern of dull green and grey. The subordinate team leader demanded my attention and quietly told me to get a new hi-vis. That's an order. Yes sir. The New One Doesn't Work That new tyrannosaurus of a cardboard baler is proving a problem child. We're all shaking our heads and muttering "I told them so" as the machine fails to work reliably straight from the installation. It is a big issue of course. The amount of cardboard we go through is vast - one of the mechanics working on the new machine could not believe how much cardboard our company has to deal with, a feature of having to deal with bulk supplies of auto parts that must be delivered in pristine condition, and whilst he spoke, the yard outside was filling up with temporary bins full of the stuff. They even called overtime specifically to help clear it. Now parts of the machine have failed and must go back to Germany to be redesigned and manufactured. You know, for months I was essentially the only associate working on cardboard waste within the warehouse, dealing with smaller boxes whilst the bigger external machines took care of larger packages. Now they have a regular crowd of workers trying to cope with the load and regularly get swamped. One of my colleagues said that things were easier when I was baling. Feels nice to be wanted doesn't it? Sigh. Oh well, the next order has been passed to me and packages full of auto parts must be decanted into stillages for the production line. So that's another load of oil soaked impact bars then. I can see why my colleagues want to get drunk. Screenie of the Week It's a long bank holiday this easter so a spot of virtual flying is called for. I just love those big propliners and cargo planes, this one - a Douglas C124 from the Cold War era is no exception, seen here flying important cargo and probably a few sailors on a free ticket from a naval base in the Puget Sound to Alameda in sunny California. Enjoy the pic... Drunk in charge of that wonderful machine? That's just criminal. I had a lovely evening - instead of loud crowd noise, thudding metronome beats in the background, and all the hot sweaty jostling for another drink, all I heard was the mighty rumble of four large capacity radial aero-engines. Heaven. Oh all right, I admit it, I also indulged myself with a spot of heavy metal guitar. Hell too Well, the holiday isn't over, and I have more time to wander around the supermarket to find something different and interesting.... Aha... That bottle of White Rum looks good....