Frenchsmell

So once more the streets of Paris have become a war zone in the never ending battle between entrenched authority and the fierce rushing of the mob. The things these old streets must have seen, so much passion and purpose breaking on those rues like waves upon cliffs. This report claims that the primarily Muslim rioters are actually using weapons and scenes of guerrilla warfare are once more being seen in the birthplace of modern revolution. Roughly 40 years earlier a generation of students and workers closed ranks and brought the mighty establishment of the French Republic to its knees. They had some rallying cries that I think still ring true today:
Dans une société qui a aboli toute aventure, la seule aventure qui reste est celle d'abolir la société.
In a society that has abolished all adventures, the only adventure left is to abolish society.
Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié ne font que se creuser un tombeau. Those who make revolutions by halves do but dig themselves a grave.

So here we sit in the belly of the beast watching the legions of jackals feast. Casual cruelty and apathetic abuse are the ethos of our epoch. The liberals endorse and the conservatives conquer, all the while our souls weep for the atrocities of our minds. The modern age made us think we were a sage, when in fact we are nothing but pretentious killers. This curse of the herd cannot be overcome by the word. Mighty as logos be, it alone will not set us free. We have become alienated from the earth, from eachother, and from ourselves. If we wish to find time to prevent humanity from falling into the abyss, then it is time to raise the fist. Not in opposition to others, but solidarity with all our sisters and brothers. If we are divided, they are delighted. If we are one, then their time is done.

No Shit

Turns out one of the names on that last list, Ian Smith, died today. As much as he was an intransigent imperialist dedicated to keeping white minority rule in Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe), he was also one tough man. He served as a fighter pilot in WWII- getting half his face paralyzed crashing on takeoff and being shot down over occupied Europe and making it all the way back to Allied lines. For 15 years (1965-1980) Smith and the Rhodesian Front defied UN sanctions, fought an intense counterinsurgency known as the Bush War. Eventually Smith was pressured into allowing fair elections, which his former nemesis Robert Mugabe won. For the 27 years after he negotiated the end to white minority rule, Smith never left or sold his farm in Zimbabwe. He also never shied away from criticizing Mugabe's regime, perhaps being the only person in the country to be allowed to publicly do so. In 2000, while abroad, Smith called Mugabe "mentally deranged". The latter vowed that if Smith every returned he would be arrested and prosecuted for genocide. Ian Smith returned as planed, was greeted politely at the airport and then drove home without incident. Well, anyway, dude is now dead and another dictator rules the land; at least he is the same race as the people he brutalizes- that makes it better right?

Pakistan

Recently a fellow historian did a study to see what the average shelf life was for US backed dictators. Turns out the average is about 10 years until they are deposed, go renegade, or just get so violent and out of control we take them out. Well, looks like the 6th most populous nation on earth is now in the midst of an all out battle for control of the state. On one side the massive, nuclear armed, Pakistani Military, led by General Pervez Musharraf. The other is composed of radical elements that span many ethnicities and regions, but can safely be called Islamist in nature- these forces include Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Hizbul Mujahideen, and the Taliban. Then there are the various tribes that are essentially hostile to the central government, such as the Balochis, Pashtuns and others. Then there is the political/civilian side, led by such people as former PM Benzair Bhutto and the former Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the former supported by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the latter by almost the entire legal community in conjunction with various middle to upper class citizens. One way or another, it looks like our Dick Tater is going to be ousted or have to kill a lot of people. Here is a list of some of our former friends-

Abacha, General Sani	Nigeria
Amin, Idi	Uganda
Banzer, Colonel Hugo	Bolivia
Batista, Fulgencio	Cuba
Bolkiah, Sir Hassanal	Brunei
Botha, P.W.	South Africa
Branco, General Humberto	Brazil
Cedras, Raoul	Haiti
Cerezo, Vinicio	Guatemala
Chiang Kai-Shek	Taiwan
Cordova, Roberto Suazo	Honduras
Christiani, Alfredo	El Salvador
Diem, Ngo Dihn	Vietnam
Doe, General Samuel	Liberia
Duvalier, Francois	Haiti
Duvalier, Jean Claude	Haiti
Fahd bin'Abdul-'Aziz, King	Saudi Arabia
Franco, General Francisco	Spain
Hitler, Adolf	Germany
Hassan II	Morocco
Marcos, Ferdinand	Philippines
Martinez, General Maximiliano Hernandez	El Salvador
Mobutu Sese Seko	Zaire
Montt, General Efrain Rios	Guatemala
Noriega, General Manuel	Panama
Ozal, Turgut	Turkey
Pahlevi, Shah Mohammed Reza	Iran
Papadopoulos, George	Greece
Park Chung Hee	South Korea
Pinochet, General Augusto	Chile
Pol Pot	Cambodia
Rabuka, General Sitiveni	Fiji
Montt, General Efrain Rios	Guatemala
Salassie, Halie	Ethiopia
Salazar, Antonio de Oliveira	Portugal
Somoza, Anastasio Jr.	Nicaragua
Somoza, Anastasio, Sr.	Nicaragua
Smith, Ian	Rhodesia
Stroessner, Alfredo	Paraguay
Suharto, General	Indonesia
Trujillo, Rafael Leonidas	Dominican Republic
Videla, General Jorge Rafael	Argentina
Zia Ul-Haq, Mohammed	Pakistan

Nietzsche

"Some are born posthumously."
"The very word "Christianity" is a misunderstanding — in truth, there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross."
"Against boredom even gods struggle in vain."
"Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent."
"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."
"The visionary lies to himself, the liar only to others."
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."
"To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity."
"Morality is herd instinct in the individual."

Random Observations

It is a wild ride, this flurry of thoughts and experiences that I experience subjectively as life. The more I let myself get carried along by the current the more I understand the perpetually unfolding phenomenon we call history. In the grand scheme of things, human history is basically a short story about how some primates when ape shit and have been struggling to find themselves ever since. Occasionally a few will poke their heads out of the demented debates and endless conflict to find the serenity that can come if you just 'let it be'. Sounds simple enough, but nothing could be further from the truth. A thoroughly esoteric strain in mankind makes us simultaneously some of the most hive minded and yet independent of all creatures. This dichotomy seems to be played out in each successive day of this life. Part of me wants to "tear this motherfucker up and put it back together" and the other half just wants it all to be over soon. Confucius once said that: "When the state follows the Way, speak boldly and act boldly. When the state has lost the Way, speak softly and act boldly". So here I sit, speaking softly via the internet and awaiting the time when fearless people step up as one to act boldly.

Fire to Fallbrook

My former home in San Diego county looks as though it might burn up. Luckily I got out of that cultural cesspool and am now chillin' in wet, sparsely populated Northern California. Anyway, these are some bitchin' pictures of the purifying fire in action
Bet they wish they had saved some of that water to fight the fires instead of rapaciously using it for golf courses and lawns... Sometimes the natural world comes with its awesome force and all we can do is cower like the misguided mammals that we are.

Poem Written in Geography Class

Just carbon floating majestically through space
just trying to be in harmony with our place
over 6,000 years of sanguinary glory
we're all part of that amazing story
but now we humans begin to change
no more down home on the range
got this proclivity for economic activity
so people all moving to the city
millions of primates in close proximity
no surprise we feel like we're in captivity
or the fact that Capitalism and crimes
has been crowned King of these times
Only one planet, so only one true vision
ti's the end of the arbitrary division
that was always the rich mans mission
and so does the might battle rage
over what shall reign in the next stage
like the days of old, people bought and people sold
but with all the monkeys in the jungle of concrete
seems impossible to ever control the street
what once was just another creature
has now become the dominating feature
Not a matter of right nor wrong
or wine, women and song
but if we'll ever stop to calm down
and once more share the ground
the small spark is now a raging fire
Is it a forge, or just a funeral pyre?