The Brothers Karamazov
"Actually, people sometimes talk about man's 'bestial' cruelty, but that is being terribly unjust and offensive to the beasts..."
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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On May 2, 2011, a fifty-four year old man was murdered on suspicion of wrong-doing in full view of several high government officials who had the ability to prevent it but conspired with others to permit it. Soon after, millions more were privy to endless re-runs of these perpetrators in the very act of sanctioning and viewing this murder. Nothing has been done by any court or law enforcement agency to cite these known collaborators to date.
The murder victim may have possessed specific information about planned actions against several vital interests. This killing then caused the loss of that information and might lead to additional destruction or death that could have been otherwise prevented. If the planned death of an individual by force of arms was not simply a TV entertainment or casual diversion for the onlookers then the next logical conclusion is... 'Conspiracy'. The homicide and then secret disposal of the corpse appear to have been preferred to any possibility the victim be given voice. It deftly aborted any future Conspiracy Theorists by broadcasting the conspiracy 'live' and thereby defusing endless speculation or bothersome probing. A brilliant, if murderous, ploy!
Planners of future diabolical actions would be wise to televise as they unfold. Apparently an, 'Is it live or is it Memorex?", syndrome has rendered everyone within spitting distance of a television receiver incapable of thought. Murder has become 'justice'; if political, 'patriotism'. If in error, 'collateral damage'.The modern world has been sold soap with ever increasing subtlety and efficiency for nearly a hundred years. Is it to be blood for the next hundred?
Yup! What constitutes the make-up of the so-called 99% OWs needs some serious 'splainin. To think singling out a township sized passel of money barons as pure evil lets the rest of us off the hook, is ludicrous. A Corporation is more than the CEO; a bank more than its President. Lots of somebodies do the dirty work for the dough and/or the prestige. So perhaps as few as 1% of the population should be included in the ranks of the Good Guys, the other 99% well...
As a Nation, we total roughly of 300 million souls as of the 2010 census. Quick math shows 1% to be about 3 million. For our purposes this figure will represent approximately the number who fill the ranks of the Good Guys. Check the following to see in which camp you might find yourself.
[ You may be among the 1% who are the good Good Guys if: ]
* you refuse a vote to a Congressperson who just promises more pork for your district.
* you question why we need 750 bases around the world.
*you will not engage in blood sports, fishing and hunting, for entertainment; just for food.
*you refuse a job with a 'fracking' company.
*you refuse to own shares in a company whose profits come from the oppression of workers.
*you support a charity that's not tax deductable.
*you will not purchase any sea food on the endangered species list.
*you reject contributing to the war effort by shopping.
*you refuse to sell the family farm to agribusiness or developers.
*you will expose your favorite pastor or coach upon evidence of immoral or illegal activities.
*you consider torture unAmerican.
*you think Google is God.
*you DON'T think Google is God.
[ You may NOT be among the Good Guys if:]
*you are a neo-con who wants to rule the world.
*you work for a company which manufactures land mines, hand grenades, a-bombs, etc.
*as a trucker you haul land mines, hand grenades, a-bombs, etc.
*you go to college primarily for job prospects and not to become educated.
* you manufacture drone planes when you know they are not intended for defense purposes.
* you mine uranium.
*you vote for politicians who promise you things rather than stand for things.
* you prefer companion animals to human beings.
* you consider global warming from a political rather than a humane perspective.
* you order a crop dust knowing workers are in the fields.
* you support oppressive regimes because of their oil, ideology or religion.
* you are a tease, female; or a lech, male.
* the idea of conservation annoys you; gas rationing makes you homicidal.
* you are a vulture capitalist or corporate raider.
*you have a net worth of one billion dollars and just want a teensy bit more.
Now you know what group you fall into. If you're a Good Guy, yeah! If you are unhappy with the result, what are you gonna do about it? Will you remain a camp follower or clean up your act and be part of the 1% ...the Good Guys.
Wot's this then! How can a baseball game ruin anything? Well...Home Run, as many remember, is classic adolescent male jargon for the end stage in the seduction process. The thing that happens (maybe) after bases 1, 2 and 3 are endured, for decorum mostly; then rushed past quickly. If that base, Home, is reached then...ta da... you 'do it' ! Therein the rub. No pun. This pathetic angst of callow youth has worldwide ramifications. Generation upon generation has suffered the Home Run Syndrome.
It probably began soon after the last ice age; certainly with the advent of agriculture. Humans began to settle in bigger clusters and larger tribes when the supply of food was more assured. Food, that ultimate, primary, energy source. (You thought it was oil, gas, or atoms didn't you?) The struggle switched from power over the elements, the beasts and the uncertainty of the hunt, to power over others. Back from a desert-mountain top-forest glade spiritual quest, or accidental experience, comes the recently idled, permanently underemployed, ex-hunter. Piously he announces he had," Seen things, heard things, Big Things, stuff the rest of you lot don't know squat about. So call me Mr. Shaman now and get busy. Quit laying about luxuriating. Get quickly to Home Base; then put on some clothes. Sweep out my cave and bring some food. I know stuff! "
The goal of cultures, religions and tribes over millennia has been to reduce us all to unwitting strivers for Home Base. Coital junkies, as it were. If we could be convinced that coition was as good as it gets, the only desirable goal; what obedient subjects we'd become. But to convince a species with acres of silky, bare skin, 24/7 access to love-making and now, lots more idle time, to forget all that preliminary stuff; go for the gold. Home Run! This became the main job of every shaman, priest and pol and tyrant. Don't linger about; just do it. Then get back to work, prayer, the regiment, the kitchen or city hall. It's gotten so bad nowadays that on a clothing optional beach or a naturist resort one can see the location of Home Base clearly, but the ever-present, judgmental voice says to stay on the bench. So we do. Thereby hangs a tail...oops, tale
The first to be disappointed and shortchanged were the women. It lasts to this day. The average maiden is tutored initially by the least able teacher of the amatory arts; a young male. Alas, poor maiden, our swain is under the spell of that old siren, Home Run. And this is the norm in the more 'enlightened' climes. In other parts of the world a likely couple is pretzled together by the families. Often see each other for the first time at the wedding rites and then...viola! Home Run. A burkha hides the damage.
There is likely more kissing, caressing and affection in one hour of femme to femme love-making than in a year of typical hetero wham-bam. Does it not follow that a less frantic, more sensual approach to amatory pleasures would occur with a suitable femme as tutor for young women...and young men? What are the chances of this happening? Little to none in the present situation.
The twentieth century, despite wars, plagues and financial depressions saw the greatest increase in global population in history. Improved medicine, industrial output and transportation, the so-called Green Revolution, all played a role. But our old standby, can't overlook it...Home Run, is a giant in the reproduction numbers game. And the big numbers represent lots of customers, a huge market, so what incentive is there for the focus to shift away an old faithful control mechanism such as that?
Home Run, as a metaphor, is an admittedly transparent ploy to redress a variety of human woes caused by oppression and usurpation of power. But if we seek to sort out effective devices for human control and discard violence, religiosity, and starvation; libido manipulation leaps forward. It's effective, it's cheap and once in place, devilish hard to combat because everybody's an expert. It becomes proprietary, automatic, personally defensible and survives nicely through generations.
Each of us could stop the nonsense dead in it's track. Could that is, by spending a little quality time 'doing it'. Throw out the old paradigm of wham-bam and try warming it up by cooling it.
Slow, slow, catchy monkey is very good amatory advice.
a tale of the future
In the middle of the twenty-first century, roughly four decades after Ralph Nader's ' novel' suggestion, the super- rich decide the time has come to save the day (and what remains of civilization). The Euro has collapsed first, followed in short order by the dollar and the commissars in China are barely holding the renmimbi together. A handful of powerful, like-minded tycoons, who have survived with their fortunes largely intact, join forces and resolve to try to create something positive from the surrounding chaos. They call themselves The SixPack.
This group,although fiscally and politically very conservative, are socially quite progressive. Even, incredibly enough, radical. In fact, what they propose to do is illegal in every country; totally immoral in the eyes of every religion and could result in them being targeted for assassination if word got abroad of the undertaking.
The strongest rallying point amongst the SixPack members, all of whom are family oriented, is the carnage wreaked on the young during the long decline. Some had suffered personal loss as the shocking incidence of teen suicide was increasing, particularly among males. They began to wonder if the collapse of the internet and much of the power grid, which had enabled access to games playing, but now denied them, wasn't a factor.. The connection to suicide was baffling until one of the group came across a quote by a now obscure twentieth century writer. In 1987, Gore Vidal in an essay wrote," Since power not sex is true motor to human life, the powerless often prefer to die. That is why today's young do not eat goldfish. They kill themselves."With the illusion of power provided by video and online gaming gone, the disenfranchised young indeed felt powerless.
With the need for secrecy foremost, all six participants pledge whatever it takes of their personal fortunes, time and resources to assist the project to completion. Their combined assets are considerable: their resources worldwide in scope; their determination...total. So it begins.
Remarkably, very little altruism is involved as the leaders go about busily rearranging human history. These are hard-nosed guys making considered investments in both time and fortune and who, in most cases, won't live long enough to see the end results.That being said, what matters to them is, if they are successful, humankind is successful.
In order to have a chance for success location is paramount. The climate must be mild, the location remote from other habitation and the soil must be tilth. Selection of just the right habitat is a daunting task that would have been impossible prior to decades of diminishing social cohesion, natural resource depletion and planet-wide malaise. Of course these very circumstances are the reason this mind boggling adventure was even contemplated. Only the prospect of ever growing threats to mankind's very survival in any satisfactory form would have united these powerful individuals in this sort of endeavor.
A stroke of good fortune put them in possession of an island at a reasonable latitude and sufficient size to accommodate the plan. Their good fortune was at the cost of the former inhabitants who succumbed to a virulent strain of a smallpox type virus which was no longer a problem as the bug and the victims had perished together. The site was inspected by teams of tropical health and habitation experts for any foreseeable problems and given a clean ticket. With the results in hand the principals began construction of a comfortable and viable environment.
They began to lay down a cover story for the intended usage to satisfy workmen and suppliers who would naturally be curious. The raison d'etre put forth was that a quarantine facility was being equipped for future usage and would, quite naturally, be off limits to the public. It was necessary at every stage to have a cover story circulated casually in hopes that curiosity be thwarted as it arose.
One of the last installations, after fencing the approach to the waterfront, was the erection on the main pier and abutting the fence of a building to facilitate egress and exit from the settlement. Supplies could enter and in an emergency an occupant could be removed to receive medical treatment as it served as a clinic as well. A series of airlocks and UV installations served to prevent contamination from entering the facility from outsiders and to keep the residents from interacting with the outside world. Also in place was an elaborate network of closed circuit cameras throughout the colony that would only link to six monitors in the secure control of the principals. To avoid any taint of 'Big Brother', only the residents could activate the system if they so desired.
It was determined that once a year the system would be turned on for twenty four hours so the SixPack principals could view the colony.
The matter of recruitment was problematic. There was general agreement regarding the first applicants as to age, fifteen to twenty was the range; they would be females. It was deemed essential that the girls would be introduced first to domesticate the environment; a nesting process. Recruitment parameters were set and included firstly; orphans, of which there was no shortage worldwide since the troubles began. Excellent health was vital along with a more or less secular spiritual orientation. The organizers, at this junction, were forced to rely on trusted aides and associates to comb the world looking for recruits. Although denied a clear picture of the actual future awaiting the prospects, they could honestly promise something more rewarding and far safer than the candidates would otherwise enjoy.
When the desired number had been realized, the young women put through an extensive indoctrination at various locations, they were then transferred to the island and installed in what was to be a permanent home. The initial number decided on was sixty. Meanwhile the task force was busily occupied in securing a supply of very young, orphaned infants; a ratio of three girls to one boy was established. The infants were soon delivered over to the young women who had been anxiously awaiting their arrival. The hardest thing for these young people to accept was the ban on companion animals. It was hoped a focus away from pets and toward children and each other would be more productive.
After a suitable bonding and acclimation period the final element was introduced with the arrival from indoctrination of a cadre of twenty young males. These youth, as the females previously had done, underwent lengthy training in agriculture, construction, animal husbandry and other useful trades. This group of young males was at the heart of the experiment. The principals had decreed that most of the woes plaguing mankind from time immemorial may have been caused by universal male dominance. The ratio of male to females, including the infants, was chosen in an attempt to redress this phenomenon. Three to one, female to male, was the chosen number for the colony but, by lacking precedent, was plainly arbitrary.
What was not arbitrary, and was stressed repeatedly in the candidate selection process, was that one major requirement for both males and females is a demonstrable interest in erotic inclination toward both genders. Total rejection of such an inclination was a disqualifier. This was necessary to avoid lapsing into a male dominated erotic atmosphere. Specifically to avoid the 'third base' syndrome, or coital obsession, which had been rampant historically as a result of repressive religious and cultural taboo systems which directed erotic interest to one act above all others. Countless generations subject to this syndrome had become inept lovers and erotically uneducable because of carnality focused primarily on coitus and subsequent neglect of a multitude of erogenous possibilities. So to assist these young males in learning to sublimate the burgeoning urgencies of eros, a potential smorgasbord of opportunity and enlightenment in sensual arts was offered.
The candidates, during indoctrination, were made aware that in the colony they would be expected to, as Wiccans might say, be 'Sky Clad'. This is by no means a clothing optional situation as any garments worn would be solely for protection from the elements and would not, in any way, hide the nether areas from view. In effect, a reverse taboo attempting to offset eons of denial of the carnal, animal nature of humans. They were to understand that amorous activities were not to be hidden from others, nor from the young. In conjunction, it was affirmed that no one was to willfully, spitefully or pridefully hide from others, this region of the anatomy.That the key to reversing eons of repression and compulsive approach to amatory life was to be open, frank and honest about behaviors and appetites of humanity that heretofore had been used as a sinister lever to enact repression and control over individuals, tribes and cultures.
The SixPack principals now feel that they have removed most of the obvious barriers to the success of these brave young pioneers as they attempt to forge a new culture. Success or failure will not be known until, at the earliest, the next generation. If compulsion, along with power seeking, and possessiveness is removed from the mix, maybe, this drastic experiment will lead to a way of being not merely human, but truly humane.
Quoth the Raving
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Veni,Vedi,Vici
Julius Caesar
Veni,Vedi,Vici...Sidi ( I stuck around )
Uncle Sam
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....Zero Gravitas
Quoth the Raving
All I know, all any of us know, is what we're told.
...Zero Gravitas
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Quoth the Raving
If it walks like a depression, talks like a depression, and looks like a depression; it's a recovery.
...Zero Gravitas
Quoth the Raving
WHY IS THAT?
Full scale War in Korea; we called it a Police Action
Police Action in Iraq; we call it a War.
...Zero Gravitas
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Quoth the Raving
Ecology is an impending Black Swan quagmire therefore incorporation is anathema to Economists.
...Zero Gravitas
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Quoth the Raving
An incoming US President who does not immediately resign his office after having received eyes-only briefings of what's really going on is hopelessly co-opted or delusional.
....Zero Gravitas
Quoth the Raving
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We are now a nation of middlemen. What becomes of us if the center cannot hold?
....Zero Gravitas
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Quoth the Raving
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Why not use some of the red ink to make things Green?
....Zero Gravitas
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