"I DIDN'T MAKE A MILLION"

"I DIDN'T MAKE A MILLION" is the title of a book written by WHITEY SMITH and published in Manila, Philippines, in 1961, by the Lawrence R. Doran Publishing.........It is one of my regrets that I did not at the time I had the opportunity, and also some others as well, to buy the book and have it autographed by Whitey Smith(which he was always perfectly willing to do for those who bought it)...... Whitey Smith ran one of the finest restaurants in Manila at the time I made his 'acquaintence' as did many others who frequented the place...of course, there were other restaurants in that section of the Ermita which I may discuss sometime or elsewhere...... The name of the restaurant was TOWN'S TAVERN and the last time I tried to go there, I found it had been turned into a bank....and soon after his retirement,etc. Whitey Smith passed away....... This restaurant also sort of set a group of standards for me that I often use to rate or judge other similar establishments.....in that you never had to ask for your glass of water to be refilled as waiters all quickly noticed such and responded even before you could glance around or try to indicate such....I never knew one to miss a refill... The tables all came with appetizers of a tray of peanuts and a tray of pickles.....and the walls were decorated in places with photos(black and white and often signed or autographed by notables, newspaper men, officials, movie stars, celebrities,etc.) of anyone who was someone who ate there and usually at times, more than once.....I never was asked to supply my own photo to hand there and perhaps this oversight was a great blessing.......so I'd never have had to explain why my physiog was hanging in the place.... Around the bar, overhead, if I recall, there was a working model train or railroad that was sometimes set in motion during the dining evenings and the bar was busy and elegant and Whitey always seemed to be behind it most of the time.....never under it...... With my friends, like Bill and Ron, or with some damsel I often ate there when in Manila and I had a few Thanksgiving and Christmas meals there also.....but can't recall if it was before or after the actual holidays........ Ron bought Whitey's book and it was one of those things that I always thought the book would be there as he had them on each table for sale at a steal...pesos not dollars....now they run for big bucks of some kind and are a rarity. What I found interesting in perusing Ron's copy was that Whitey had started out in Shanghai with his wife Helen,had led a band in the ASTOR HOUSE HOTEL and had done some boxing, about which I always intended to ask him, especially if he knew anything about 'Chinese Boxing' but,like the buying of his book, I never got around to doing this.Procrastination! The disease of tommorrow....the manana habit...bukas na! Whitey had been in Shanghai during the Japanese takeover and was able after the war to settle in Manila with his wife,etc. Well, the point is that TOWN'S TAVERN was a meeting place for Western journalists, 'diplomats' of lower echelons, operatives and agents and gatherers of information and researchers and just ordinary diners who wanted good food and drink....and there were others where such things went on......some rather obvious and others not so obvious....but all this will have to wait for another time if ever.....

THE MOSAIC THEORY OF SECRECY

The access to secret information and documents is not easy to obtain despite the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT and even when such is allowed via this law, the really important and relevant material is BLOCKED OR BLACKENED OUT! Secrecy by nearly all government agencies is determined somewhat by the 'MOSAIC THEORY OF SECRECY' which is sort of like 'THE MOSAIC LAW OF THE BIBLE' set in stone and not to be ignored. However, taking the example of a mosaic tile, agencies, like the CIA and others, believe that a single 'tile' in the wrong hands can be used to figure out the whole! This is sort of like GURDJIEFF'S statement that 'if know the small details, you can or will know the whole'. Actually, this theory owes a good deal to OCCULTISM and ESOTERICISM and the 'arts of claivoyance' and 'psychometry' if one looks deeper. We all know that many government agencies and bureaus, especially during certain Wars, like WWI & WWII, used 'psychics'[, and astrology,etc. and 'mind-reading' techniques,etc. as well as hypnosis to find out things and to interrogate prisoners,etc. at certain times,etc. This can also be compared to finding what the ocean is like from a single drop of ocean water. That is, one can, if Sherlock Holmes is correct, ONE CAN DEDUCE THE EXISTENCE OF THE OCEAN FROM A SINGLE DROP OF WATER! Thus from a single piece of tile from the entire 'mosaic' ONE CAN DEDUCE OR CONSTRUCT THE ENTIRE PATTERN OF THE MOSAIC! Similar things have been done in science in the past and also done in paleontology with fossils,etc. THUS WE FIND THAT SECRECY IS STILL THE WAY OF ALL GOVERNMENTS AND NO TRANSPARENCY CAN EVER EXIST. Small,elite groups will continue to control and manipulate all departments and activities of government including the highest branches and ignore the constitution and laws of the land.

EAGLES DO NOT CATCH FLIES OR SPIES!

If this seems familiar to you somehow if you read this, it should be, I posted in under the War On Terrorism. CIA operatives and informants have been on the 'hit list' of Terrorists for some time now and recently some have scored through various means,one of which shows the basic vulnerability of things with an enemy that is ruthless, unrelenting, and influential. The enemy is perhaps an odd assortment of terror groups and many in the West and the East unwittingly give support to them in ways they do not realize or understand. It has little to do with so-called media types, left-wingers, do-gooders,etc. but with ignorant persons who continue behaviours that help fund such or lead to fear and hysteria.

GOING IN CLEAN

GOING IN CLEAN is the term used for those who accept assignments in foreign countries and who do not carry any weapons with them when they do so. This practice, which is to be recommended, has it advantages and its disadvantages or drawbacks, but it is by far the safest procedure to enter a country that is on the watch for such things, among a host of others.

TERMS OF COVER

Here are some 'titles' used by mamy to serve as cover for certain activities or to 'mask' their identities: actor, writer, educator, sales rep(resentative), salesman, author, merchant, card-player,sportsman, athlete, hobbyist, traveler, researcher, teacher, fashion model, typist, secretary, humanitarian, retiree, film-maker, student, minister, etc. I shall add more terms as they become apparent and necessary to this discussion topic.

COVER, DISCOVER, & RECOVER

These three terms apply to many operations of a clandestine nature, as well as to the operators and creators of these same operations,especially on a 'global' basis,no doubt. Various 'exposures' and 'compromises' of all clandestine activities,whether political, military, scientific, etc. will happen and sometimes lead to drastic consequences at all levels. Various ways to establish 'cover' especially for an 'agent/operative' include various occupations that seem innocuous or commonplace,though a few more 'flamboyant' activities are sometimes involved. More on this another time.

'JIM B' JAMES BOND FANATIC

Two James Bond Fanatics, so-to-speak, were on the flight to Manila in 1963,but 'JIM B' as I shall call him, was absorbed in the latest paperbacks that Ian Fleming had written for most of the flight or else discussing such. He continued to be the supreme fan of JAMES BOND when I saw him last after he had ended his 'assignment' in the Philippines. That was when he and the other 'fan' were on their way to BANGKOK, 'notorious city of sin' while I was on my way to CAMBODIA, to seek 'ANCIENT WISDOM' in the jungles. Despite restrictions and strenuous objections by certain State Dept/Embassy persons, the two were going to go to the USSR(Russia) and one has to remember that the 'COLD WAR' was still on and there were many travel restrictions imposed,etc.,etc. I would not follow in their footsteps to see Russia for several reasons that I will not mention,except that at one time I was sort of labeled by a few persons as being 'possibly a "crypto-communist"' which requires another explanation,should I care to give it, at another time,if I have time. The movie versions of the books, which I declined to read but eventually did, were coming out and I saw DR. NO & much later, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the latter which was my favorite BOND MOVIE although I liked ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE because it seemed to me to be the most faithful to the books. At any rate, 'Jim B' seemed determined to act his fantasies by doing or rather using some of the mentioned products in these 'canonical' works of Fleming. "Jim B' had studied,I think, to be a priest or had considered such, and had, if I recall, attended or studied at a Catholic school(s) and/or college,etc. I have to mention that some others I knew had also studied to be priests but most changed their minds, as did, apparently, 'JIM B' when they all succumbed to the 'fleshpots' of Manila and other Asian cities. However, 'Jim B' soon became notorious and gained a 'reputation' for performances in some of the more clandestine and erotic nightclubs and bars,so much so, that it drew the attention of some of his immediate 'supervisors' as well as colleagues, some of whom in the latter often accompanied him on such forays in the areas that might be described as 'RED LIGHT.' To my knowledge, I never did so but knew of his activities, which one 'supervisor'/friend of mine/colleague termed "INSANE". At any rate, I shall stop my description of him for the moment as I do not know where in the world he is now, but he was an open, handsome fellow, that was intelligent in many areas and well-grounded in 'philosophy'.