Banksy in Amsterdam

One of my favorite modern visual artists has come to Amsterdam...Banksy! If you're unfamiliar with Banksy here's what I know. He is originally from the UK. He makes grafitti, stencil art, sculptures, and directs movies. His identity is currently a mystery and he has an exhibition here in Amsterdam from July 18th - September 30th.  

To my knowledge Banksy doesn't reproduce or sell any of his creations. Most feature satirical images of war and instruments of violence. He uses humor and amazing visuals to get people talking about subjects that are often considered taboo. His unique style has achieved international success. Below are some Banksy images I shot by Centraal Station mixed with a few favorites I found on google. If you would like to know more about the artist or see more if his art go to his webpage Banksy.co.uk.

War 4 Profit

The video below contains an article written and narrated by Michael Rivero. The article is titles "All Wars are Bankers Wars".

The article theorizes that every war since the Crusades and the Knights Templar, were for money. According to Micheal the first Centralized Banking was created by the Knights Templar. A private centralized banking system, is when a foreign (bank) country infiltrates a sovereign country. Then by use of warfare forces the people to stop using their own government issued currency. And use the currency provided by the invading bank...borrowed at a high interest. This causes the country to be in debt to the invader and the bankers to get rich.

This system is why King Philip IV of France caused what is popularly known as Black Friday (Friday, 13 October 1307). In an attempt to end the stranglehold on Europe the Knights of Templar held, Philip and other dignitaries met in secret and agreed to round up all the knights and have them executed. By killing them all at once they hoped to end the tyranny of the bankers and return control of the countries economy to its rightful leaders. For a time their Coup d' Etat worked...then the bankers returned to power.



According to Benjamin Franklin, the American Revolution was sparked primarily by the colonist's refusal to accept King George III's currency act. This act (based on Centralized Banking) forced the colonist to stop using their own government printed currency. Money which they would use to buy food, property or supplies. Instead they could only conduct business using bank notes printed by the Bank of England,  borrowed at interest.

The obvious problem with this system is that the colonist would've been providing supplies, crops, food, and materials to England for free. Well not actually for free, the colonist would've had some nice pieces of printed paper to show for all their labor. That paper was supposed to be backed by gold, which the colonist could exchange at the Bank of England. The thing was the Bank of England didn't have enough gold at that time to pay off all the money they had printed. So the bank notes (dollars) had no value, while the supplies and food was priceless to the colonists.

The video below contains information you will never be taught in school. It talks about every war the worlds been in since the Knights of Templar. Also which presidents sold out the American people, and why JFK was assassinated. The details and research present a compelling case. Knowledge is power so if you like the video share it with a friend.

Animanga: Kingdom

There's not many historical manga stories that hold my attention. Most of the stories are to much like reading a history book with pictures.

The Animanga: Kingdom is a whole different story. I started off by watching a few episodes of the anime...on a recommendation. I liked it after the third. From there I went and read the manga...all 378 chapters of it (binge reading). I can some up the rest of this post with four words "The story is dope!".

Kingdom follows the life of a young peasant boy named Shin as he aspires to become a great general in warring ancient china. The story takes place 245 BC (Before Christ) at a time when western china was broken in to 7 major countries. The lands of Qin, Chu, Zhou, Han, Yan, Wei, and Qi are all battling for domination.

Shin and his best friend Sin Hyo lived in the country of Qin. They planned to enter the army and become generals. Sin Hyo, turned out to be an identical double of the king of Qin. He was taken to the palace and used as a body double for the king. Sin was killed by assassins.

Shin discovers the details of Sins murder from the real king. His name was Sai and his dream was to unify all of western China. To due this he had to conquer all the other countries and Shin decided to help him achieve his goal. Sin died protecting the king and to honor his memory Shin took up his duty.

Aside from being a historical piece it's great action sequences, writing and character development. It reminds me of the writing style of Death Note crossed with One Piece. Where the writing and plot make you feel for the character. The battle scenes are well drawn with incredible detail. The characters fight with classic weapons from their time period. Sword, mace, ax, lance, bow and arrow...etcetera. The weapons aren't high tech but how the characters use them makes them look superhuman.

Each battle moves the story forward as Shin builds his private army the Hi Shin Unit composed of elite fighters and strategist.  At the same time his victories and failures along with the other generals of Qin propel Sai's dream of unifying China forward. If you read battle type manga like Berserk then I definitely recommend Kingdom.

The anime is on the final episode of the second season. There's no doubt in my mind that there will be a third due to its popularity. Below is a snippet from the battle between Shin and a general from the land of Wei named Rinko. Check it out.