Sunday, July 24, 2011

A Norwegian Would


 Before I write anything I would first like to extend my sympathies to the
country of Norway and its people who experienced a tremendous loss
at the end of last week.


Many summer's ago I visited the beautiful country of Norway.
It was everything I ever dreamed it would be and more, fjords, clean air 
and water, gorgeous women, all in a culture of civilized nordic refinement.
The Norwegians I met during my travels were open, friendly, hospitable
and possessed a worldly savvy afforded to those who have grown 
accustomed to viewing the madness of humankind remotely, from their 
seemingly detached nordic paradise.

When you consider what happened in that country on Friday, my false
perception that somehow Norway is or was in anyway detached from the
human tragedy, is simply that, a perception.

 It can be easy to think and believe that the suffering of this world has little
to no connection to the society in which one lives, but given the fact that
human beings are creatures living within an ecosystem and every bit a part
of that ecosystem, only serves to remind us that when consequence, and
the laws of cause and effect choose to strike its ruthless balance, nobody is
immune, not even our friends in Norway. Everything happens for a reason,
even if we don't fully understand the causes, and it is for this reason I am 
reluctant to lay blame.

 Norway is to be commended for bravely standing up for justice, and for
having the wisdom and courage to see the 'big picture'. They have recently 
pulled out of the Libyan conflict, realizing that it is fruitless to risk the precious 
lives of their most courageous citizens to the perils and whims of a North African
resource 'turf war'. They have also come forward and stood by the principles 
of equality for all peoples, by supporting a Palestinian bid for statehood.
These political positions are two big blows against the self-consuming decadence 
that IS the 'Military-Industrial Complex'.

So cruel does this most recent tragedy strike at Norway's heart, and while 
media and politicians were anxious to chalk this terrorist incident up as another 
Al-Qaeda (Muslim) operation, what has surfaced instead is another narrative of a 
'lone nut'. I say 'narrative' only because all the information about this massacre 
has yet to come in, and as to who may have been involved. It seems unlikely the 
assailant didn't receive some form of 'help', and if he did, it was most certainly
agreed upon beforehand that he would take the blame, thus saving the necks of 
his co-conspirators by claiming to have 'acted alone'.

This young man committed these acts based on what he believed was true,
not unlike so many soldiers throughout history who have committed murder in the
name of what they 'believed' to be justice. As long as we continue to 
cultivate the belief of 'fighting for our beliefs' we will continue to experience
aberrations of this principle. We will continue to be subjected to the whims
of extremists who take their concept of justice that one fatal step too far, and 
chose to act out violently, fuelled by their rage at a perceived injustice.

 Norwegians, like all members of the human family have the capacity to produce
the greatest triumphs of the human spirit, as well as it's tragic shadow. What
has befallen Norway this past week has scarred many other nations throughout
recent years, and will probably continue to devastate others in the not too 
distant future.
 When put to the test, the true triumph of a person or country will be its return 
to its values and lifestyle.  Refusing to be intimidated by internal and external threats,
Norway will take it's place as a nation which will defy the compromising cries for
tighter security and diminished freedoms. Against a determined foe, there are
no foolproof methods to ensure the safety of citizens, that doesn't render a society
becoming little more than an 'open air prison'.

There is a world of difference between what one believes to be true and what 
one knows to be true, and not being able to see the difference between the
two is a seed of ignorance which often germinates into the weeds of destruction.

The anger and sadness the Norwegian people are currently experiencing
will lash out and condemn this young man and his hateful actions. Yet one 
day, this dark mood will surrender itself to a spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness, 
as Norwegians will take courageous steps and move forward, as lovers of 
peace and life.

In the end, I believe, it is the mighty capacity for forgiveness which dwells within 
the human heart that will prove to be the eternal weight this young man will forever 
be burdened to carry. We humans have developed complex methods of denial to 
cope with, and shield ourselves from, the anger and judgement of others, forgiveness
however is a light and a force we have no defence against.
Now, this poor boy, poor of spirit and soul, has thrown away his own life and destroyed 
the lives of many many more…for a belief!

Dirty CT  July 2011

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Mystery of PO7

Approximately one year ago, a peculiar looking 'security car' appeared parked on the street in front of my house. The said vehicle, painted in black except for the two doors in white, boldly sported a cartoon style police badge logo on both doors. My initial thought at the time was that there must have been a commercial or film shoot scheduled on my street, and that the 'car' in question was simply a film prop. That's how unreal or bizarre the security/police car looked to me.


PO7 reminded me of the police cars portrayed in the film BladeRunner or even one of those cliché police vehicles that one would find in an old Dick Tracy comic strip.
PO7 at your service!
However, there wasn't any film, commercial, or FX crew to be found, Just this 'prop' of a car.


I quickly accepted the fact that the car must have belonged to a legitimate security company and proceeded with my day. However, in the days and weeks that followed the initial sighting, the 'car' still remained parked on my street.


Curiously though, someone or 'something' would often move the car to different sides of street on different days, in order to avoid any parking violations. It's almost as if this artifact had a life or energy of its own- 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week, the car would remain parked, and alone, with its impeccable paint job intact.
From Ridley Scott's BladeRunner


Although there were accounts from my neighbours' having actually witnessing the 'owners' of P07 entering his/her vehicle and moving it to its new parking space on my street, I have never witnessed the act myself. I mention 'vehicles' and 'his/her', only because there were sightings of an elderly woman and a man in his 40's who were seen at different times driving the PO7. Therefore I didn't put any credence into the accounts, and began formulating new theories and thoughts concerning the PO7 mystery:

Theory A: The PO7 vehicle is an accessory for a local money laundering operation, cleverly and might I say cynically, masquerading as a 'security firm' no less. I admire the bravado of PO7's authors for their audacity and originality. As usual, neighbours and locals would simply 'turn a blind eye' to that anomalous object enigmatically parked on my street. Only a few slightly curious comments such as: “oh, ya that car, it's kind of funny looking...”. Followed by: “Ah, it's nothing, please pass me the cream...”. Perhaps believing hook, line and sinker in the whole menagerie that PO7 is a legitimate security operation. The only problem is, that the vehicle never leaves my street. Therefore, it's never used in any security activity whatsoever. Therefore, one has to question the motive behind the charade. It's a microcosm of the macro-cosmic state of affairs we happen to all be caught up in on a global scale: collectively denying we're all part of an elaborate con game. That's what the PO7 symbol represents to me, but I digress...

Alas, a few months ago, and much to my pleasure, I witnessed a local police investigation unit tow PO7 away from my street. I suspected the car was being impounded with the intention of searching the said vehicle for any incriminating evidence. I was genuinely pleased, as the impounded car only confirmed my belief that PO7 was a front operation of some sort. Over the years I have developed a genuine dislike for deceptions and imposters.


DISSAPOINTMENT!:
One week later, after returning home from a hard day's work, low and behold, parked in front of my house was none other than the PO7 security car? “It's baaack!”, I thought loudly in my mind. It felt like I was part of some elaborate cosmic joke. Though I cannot rule out the money laundering theory altogether, I have to accept the possibility that the local 'fuzz' couldn't find anything on PO7 and returned the vehicle back to where it 'belonged': on my street, and of course, parked in front of my house -AGAIN!!!!


Thus, in light of the fact that there aren't any logical explanations for the presence of PO7, I'm now forced to entertain 'alternative theories'...

Theory B: The PO7 car is the work of a clever installation artist and could possibly be a social comment perhaps mocking or underlining the omnipresence of the police/security state reality in our culture. There is an iconoclastic (DaDa) quality to the PO7 as an object/artifact and what it might also represent symbolically (e.g. Abuse of power and force, the rule of law and the establishment, control, security, you name it, etc.). Though it's amusing to entertain this theory, I don't put much faith in the possibility. I'm quite jealous however that I could not come up with an idea like this for an installation piece. Someone beat me to it.

Theory C: (My favourite) The PO7 object is a cloaked surveillance drone controlled by an advanced non-earthly intelligence....or Theory C-2: The PO7 object is a cloaked surveillance drone and occasional getaway car for Rupert Murdoch...



PD Cafargo July 2011 (no longer contributing to this site)


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Wrath Of Levi Strauss-Khan

 Do you prefer the straight leg, tapered, or an all out bell-bottom, button down or zip-up?
There have been more than a few 'zip-ups' concerning the unzipping antics of the former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Khan's alleged 'hotel-no-tell-sofitel sexcapade'. I could easily refer to him as 'Levi Strauss-Khan' in that 'Levi' serves as an anagram which holds multiple linguistic possibilities.

Have you ever read Milton, Captain?
 It's a tough job being the head of the IMF, especially if having a high libido is in your genes, or is that 'jeans', not to mention all those working lunches, travelling the world in 'Executive Class' oh, and let's not forget the odd $3000 a night hotel stay, or two, or three. Thank goodness Dominique Strauss-Khan is a Socialist, imagine what his hotel bills would be if he were a outright of centre Capitalist?

 After French president 'Napoleon Sarkozy' exiled his rival by nominating him for the position as IMF chief in 2007, One could have assumed that DSK was done like 'creme-brulee' as a political rival to the throne of France's 21st century monarchy. But 'Old Guard' socialists like DSK have a way of resurfacing, especially when the caviar and champagne run out, and are in turn 'Christened' by La-'new'-Guarde when one of Sarkosy's 'boys' is appointed as the new 'chef' of the IMF.  Given the most recent assault on DSK's, ahem...integrity, are we about to witness a sequel to this epic saga: "The Wrath of Strauss-Khan"?

 The Guinean hotel maid who originally accused DSK, or as the French media have dubbed him: "le Grand Seducteur", has now "changed" her story, as money has been discovered mysteriously showing up in her bank account over the past two years. Questions, questions… was this, or is this, some kind of conspiracy to disgrace or politically assassinate, a potential rival? Maybe this was simply a plan hatched by the "Guinean mob" or a desperate woman to extort money from a helpless yet powerful man? I don't think so, for the simple reason there are far wealthier and obscure rich people a gold digger could chose to extort money from, why bother with all the problems created by doing this to someone who has a whole corporate-globalist gargantuan behind him?

A better look for DSK
When you are on the socio-political level of DSK, not only do you have the power to subjugate little mediterranean countries, spanking them into austerity 'till they cough up a couple of hundred islands and a lifetimes supply of tzatziki sauce, but also people, who can be 'persuaded' to change their story, just as isolated cases of digital banking information can also have a few zeros added by anyone who possesses the power to do so. So despite the physical injuries this woman sustained during her alleged rape, confusion reigns supreme as the maid seems to have suddenly lost all credibility and her resolve . Rejoice! DSK will be free at last, and the hallowed room at the Sofitel will forever be enshrined as a celebrity 'place of interest' for the curious and aficionados of 'financial rape tourism'. The next absurdity will certainly be the deafening cries for cameras to be placed in ALL hotel rooms for 'security reasons'.

Like most theatre of the 'absurdist elite' the truth of what happened at the Hotel Sofitel in New York City on that day in May, will probably forever remain a mystery, for the simple reason that the amount of money and important players involved would certainly expose to a naive populace the levels of corruption at work, and it's unchallenged potential to abuse the rule of law. We little plebes will now be expected to sift through the dregs of second hand speculation (like this article you're reading) and official statements, in order to make any sense of this little charade, and will most certainly, as any sane person would, give up- crack open a cold one-and ask DSK to fire up the BBQ, trying of course, not to spill any 'grilling sauce' on his brand new pair of Levi-Strauss 501's.

Dirty CT  July 2011

Friday, July 1, 2011

Crop This!

  For many years now I've had a passing interest in the 'Crop Circle' phenomenon. We here at 'the Abyss' like to give a fair shake to all aspects of the human experience, so why not this one?
An intergalactic recipe?
Living on the margins of society frees me up to explore other aspects of life that do not always dovetail with consensus reality. I've learned that If you want to 'make it' with the 'rational' crowd, you better stick to simplistic things like 'two cheek kisses' at cocktail parties, left-right political discourse, and a working knowledge of the 'latest' hip HBO series.

However, if you wish to flirt with flakiness, dance with delusion, or just be a plain ol' outcast and pariah like myself, then you may be interested in opening up the hood a little, poking around or even turning over a few sacred stones.
For those who know little to nothing of this phenomenon, let me give you my brief synapsis of what it 's all about.

'Crop Circles' are diagrams or pictograms, impressed in field crops (barley, wheat, corn, rapeseed…etc) and are often not even circular at all.  They are a phenomenon that dates back many centuries, but only now, at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, have commanded any kind of global attention, most probably due to a combination of pervasive media culture and increased 'circle' complexity.

Back in the early 1990's a couple of Englishmen set out to confuse the world as to the origins of these mysterious circles, they were known as 'Doug and Dave', a couple of old codgers from the local liars club who claimed to have created the circles using little more than boards and rope. That explanation was all the mildly curious needed to hear to dismiss the phenomenon outright and sending them back to sleep in Normalsville. There were never any serious challenges in the media or scientific community to these fellow's extraordinary claims, because their simplistic explanation allowed any of our many irrational subconscious fears to rest for just a wee bit longer.
Unexplained phenomena make people feel uneasy, we like to think we've 'got a grip' on reality, and when a monkey wrench like this is thrown into the machinery, delusions of grandeur and self-importance are quickly threatened, and the damage control 'weapon of choice' is usually ridicule. Since the shaming components of ridicule are too devastating for most to endure, we turn our backs on this reality, ignoring it's simple beauty, scale, precision and artistic brilliance.

Despite this denial, the 'Crop Circle' phenomenon only grew more complex throughout the 90's, as if to say "Deny this!" and by the time the twenty first century arrived, the crop formations were becoming so complex and abundant that the mainstream media's response was to ignore them outright, leaving the uninformed to pass judgement on something they knew very little about.

I don't know what the bleep they are, who made them or why, but there are some interesting questions which arise when you learn the facts and start asking questions of your own.

Although there have been 'circles' reported in many countries around the world, England seems to be the epicentre of the most abundant and intriguing formations, why?

Actually southern England to be precise, and more specifically, areas in Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, and other adjacent counties, which also happens to be home to some of Britain's most ancient megalithic sites. These formations occur with great regularity over the summer months, pissing off local farmers, without anybody ever getting caught, charged, or even attacked with a pitch fork…why, why, why???

In urban areas we've grown accustomed to seeing the ubiquitous 'tag' of local graffiti 'artists'. Their 'tag' is designed to draw attention to their 'accomplishment'-also known as vandalism. Crop formations are the rural equivalents to this type of vandalism (except that they are intelligent in design), yet the designers in this continue to remain anonymous, why?(once again)
  Now as works of art, they rival any wrapped nonsense the artist 'Christo' can produce, yet unlike 'Christo', the makers of the 'circles' don't appear to have armies of people helping them construct their artistic goal. What's interesting too, is that these often massive formations, upon close investigation, have their stocks of crop neatly flattened, unbroken and interwoven, unlike the crude snapping and breaking which occurs with 'Doug and Dave's'  plank and board method.

So who is making these things, dare I mention the 'A' word? before we even go there, we have to work with the most basic premise, which is: they are made by humans, because chances are unlikely they're made by either giraffe, wildebeest, or some long lost cousin of the dodo bird.
If regular people are responsible for making these, what technology do they use? they must certainly have a deep understanding of geometry, design, and an ability to deploy these images using stealth, and with great precision.
They do this without any recognition for their accomplishment, no government grant, no interviews on entertainment programs, no dinner gala's with celebrity starlets or photo opportunities with Obama or Pippa Middleton or Justin Bieber, and yet, without any financial reward or social recognition, still manage a healthy yearly output of formations.

 Have any of our brightest scientist or engineers cared to make any attempt to explain just how some common people could manage such a feat?  Given the time limitations of not being caught, and all the mathematical/geometrical precision involved in creating these formations, AND, if they are created during the overnight hours, how do the perpetrators manage to conduct the operation without lighting up half of England's west countryside? (maybe dey woking fo' de gubment?- a psi-op?)

There are many plausible otherworldly explanations though, because the universe is not only BIG enough and OLD enough to have created an intelligent species F A R in advance of mankind. 'Where' they come from is not of great importance either, because the possibilities are virtually limitless in both inner and outer space.
Despite the ridicule and assumptions about 'space aliens' and 'tin foil hats', combined with the conspicuous inattention of the media, the crop circle phenomenon persists to this day, with little fanfare, delighting and giving pause for thought, to those of us who still hold the ineffable wonder of the natural world with awe and reverence.


Dirty CT  July 2011


            ~Crop Circle Video...Spooky Stuff~


"Here We Go..."
Is it possible though, that a consciousness much older and advanced than humankind is trying to introduce itself gently into our reality, waking up the collective over decades, and easing us into some kind of evolutionary paradigm shift? This reality, along with it's sister phenomenon the U.F.O. 'reality' are mirror images of one another. The crop formations provide the evidence without a clear cause, and the U.F.O.'s are seen and correlated by thousands of credible witnesses, yet produce little, if any, physical traces…it's as if the two phenomenon occupy each others positive and negative space!
Everyone loves a theory, O.K. maybe not everyone, but here's my wild guess..What kind of world will we have, and how will we relate to one another after a global currency meltdown, nuclear meltdown, or environmental/climactic collapse? Might these formations be a kind of trigger to help jumpstart our evolutionary leap into a species that questions reality and our relationship to a quantum universe and nature and each other more profoundly then we have been, as we must eventually move from that of a tribal minded consumer based consciousness to something more eternal? (think: 2001 A Space Odyssey)

Note: this year's formations are really, really BAD!!! -they look as if they have been drafted by an eight year old….did the 'space beings' pick up and leave?  and now we hapless humans are being forced to do some kind of 'crop improv?, Or perhaps they are trying to get our attention by 'underwhelming us'?  Certainly someone capable of making precise and complex formations would also have the ability to make bad ones too… just a thought!

Some lame formations so far in 2011: