Fear And Loathing In The Jungle

OK, folks.  Looks like we need a little remedial class in Terrorism 101.

FACT #1: Terrorism is ALWAYS sponsored by the ruling elite.
FACT #2: Popular movements don't get popular by attacking the populace.

In any REAL revolution, the opposing side will ALWAYS attack the people and symbols of the ruling elite.  The reasoning is simple:

A revolutionary wants the masses on his side.  If he attacks the masses, they will - by default - turn to the ruling elite for protection, thus empowering the elite the revolutionary is fighting.  In other words, if you are trying to overthrow the government, you don't do things that make the government look good.

Conversely, if you are the ruling elite, it serves your purpose to manufacture and unleash enemies who APPEAR to be revolutionaries.  When they attack the masses, the masses will turn to the ruling elite for protection.  The elite can then dictate the terms of the protection and the masses will follow out of fear/terror.

I know.  A lot of people out there didn't read Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince, or Sun Tsu's The Art of War.  (read for free-no excuse now)  You should.  You would be amazed at how much of today's headlines start to make sense when you see the strategies behind them.

Fear is a powerful weapon.  People don't act rationally when they are afraid and will do pretty much anything to remove the object of their fear.  Think about the last time you panicked.  You probably did more damage in the panic than the perceived object of fear did.  It's like stampedes at concerts and football games, there's usually nothing that starts it but one or two startled people who panic.  Once the first person does it, the rest will follow.  It's like a disease that spreads incredibly fast.

Take, for example, the Great Hurricane Panic of 2005.  Hurricane Rita followed within weeks of the storm Katrina that chewed up New Orleans.  When Rita appeared to be heading for Houston, thousands - maybe millions - of people panicked and caused what is probably still the longest traffic jam ever recorded (350 km) trying to run from a storm that ended up knocking down some trees.  It was an unbelievable sight: people fleeing from a perceived threat and causing more problems than the threat ever did.  Oh, and Katrina was a completely man-made disaster, as well, brought on by official incompetence and mass panic.

Every one of those panicked people was listening to the government-controlled media and government "authorities" who were hyping the fear and purposely giving false information.  But hey, they got more toys and funding out of the deal, and I got hours of entertainment as I drove around taking photos and video of the lunacy.

It is a long-established fact that governments love terrorism, which is closely related to false-flag operations.  When the masses get panicked, their first instinct (at insofar as we've been trained) is to turn to "authorities" and "officials" for information and protection.  It's a primitive reflex and one that an individual has to work at to deprogram, but it is possible.

The next step is for the "authorities" and "officials" to offer solutions, and the solutions almost always involve surrendering some amount of self-dependence and rights to the same people who started the panic.

It's a vicious and deplorable act to use people's natural reflexes like that, but it is a tactic used for thousands of years...and it always seems to work.  By the time the masses wake up from their fear-induced stupor, it's too late and the shackles are already in place.

In the American Old West and into the Dust Bowl Period, the masses idolized outlaws.  This would not be the case if the outlaws were going around attacking everyday people.  Instead, they robbed banks and trains and post offices - symbols of power and control - and openly or not, the masses admired them for standing up to the "authorities" and "officials."

Conversely, after 9/11 and the subsequent "attacks," there has been a global push to give up more and more rights and to submit to the most heinous violations of individual privacy all in the name of stopping the "terrorists."  Now ask yourself, who/what has benefitted the most from those attacks?  Was it the terrorists, against whom the armies of the most powerful nations on Earth have rallied?  Or the governments and institutions of control that are enslaving the masses?  If you guessed the latter, then you would be right.

Do you think Osama bin Laden or al-Bagdadi or any of the other "terrorist" leaders feel successful in their graves?  Do you think the NSA, CIA, FBI, GCHQ, et al. ad nauseum feel successful?  Could there be a reason that it has taken 16 years and counting to rout out a handful of cave-dwellers?

Now the problem is, when people start to wake up and realize they've been played like a cheap piano, they get angry, and to protect themselves and their egos, they continue to submit to the "authorities" to make it seem as if it was a good idea all along.  They fool themselves into accepting the onerous iron rule of the elite, because to do otherwise would be to admit that they are dumb, panicky animals.

It truly is amazing to watch, if you are able to keep an emotional distance and not buy into all the "terror."  To see huge numbers of people panic and gaze hopefully up at the Olympian Heights for a savior just boggles the mind.  It is virtually impossible to snap people out of it, too.  They are either in a complete fear coma, or they are in profound denial to protect their egos.

In the end, though, it is painfully obvious who are the true revolutionaries and who are the terrorists.  The revolutionaries are the ones attacking the power structure, not empowering it.

As an exercise, start replacing the word "terrorist" with "authority" in your mind.

A couple of years of that and you'll be on your way to free thinking!

Ghost Of Nixon Comes A'Callin'

Over at George Ure's UrbanSurvival site (link on sidebar), there's a couple of reader email from folks down in my old stompin' grounds of Houston, Texas, bemoaning the appearance of The China Daily newspaper on their lawns every morning. They are spooked by this and as a matter of pride, dump the paper in the recycling bin.

Ugh! Americans are so xenophobic and narrow-minded.

Here, these folks are getting a free gift from the Universe: a tool to learn about their greatest economic rival in the world today. What do they do? Treat it like nuclear waste and cry about how the Chinese own the country.

Get over it. Every since Nixon went to China in the 70s, America has been losing the War of Money. Now they just want to roll over and die while complaining that the ammo they need to fight back keeps falling on their grass.

No wonder America is losing...

Little Bammy offspring has the right idea. She's learning Mandarin and practicing with every Chinese Premier she meets. If there's one example that the Obamas have set that is worth following, it's that one. Go down right this minute and enroll in Mandarin class. It will be the best investment in your personal competitiveness toolbox you could possibly make.

You see, after Nixon went to China and 'opened' the doors to commerce, the Chinese embarked on a nationwide (even Asia-wide) campaign to learn English and study western capitalism. There was no whining about how the Americans were so far ahead of the game and owned the bases and ball. There was only the idea of learning everything they could about the adversary and then using it against them.

Classic Sun Tsu, if you ask me, which you didn't, but I told you so anyway. It's all in the Art of War, a fine book that every American should be devouring, along with their Mandarin classes.

They should also be sucking up every resource on Chinese astrology and superstitions. You see, the Chinese have two major weaknesses: they are superstitious as hell, and they love to gamble. Why is that important? Because they always make major business decisions based on the horoscope, and they occasionally bite off a little more risk than is wise because they love the challenge of sheer luck.

When it comes to football, Joe Sixpack can tell you every nuance of the QB's game, what his strengths and weaknesses are, how fast he gets tired, what risks he's likely to take.

But when it comes to the culture that is jacking his job, buying up his food and energy supplies, and taking over his country? All he can tell you is whether or not he likes egg rolls, which aren't even Chinese food.

If you want to beat an adversary, you learn how they think, what they are likely to do in any situation, and how they make decisions. You learn what motivates them and what frightens them. In short, you do to them what they have been doing to you for decades.

Back in the 70s, it was the Japanese who were hijacking our economy. There were 'Buy American' stickers on cars and movies about the Japanese taking over Joe Sixpack's factory (remember 'Take This Job and Shove It'?).

Now people are whining about getting free copies of The China Daily on their porch in the morning. They can't 'Buy American' because they shipped everything overseas, lock, stock and barrel. They willingly handed the adversary everything they needed to kick our butts, and now they are crying in their soup. C'mon.

If you were to face down a Chinese businessman to compete for a contract, don't you think it would be handy to know that he is deathly afraid of the number 4? Wouldn't it be helpful if you knew that he wouldn't make a move until a certain date while he waited for the stars to line up, thus giving you some wiggle room? Wouldn't it be nice to know that he wasn't going to do anything major between the dates of February 3rd and 12th?

And most of all, even if you couldn't speak Mandarin (which I can sympathize with), wouldn't it be helpful if he couldn't talk to his associates in another language and shut you out? What advantage would it give you to be able to understand what they are talking about, especially if they thought you had no idea what they were saying?

Take some of your unemployment money down to the bookstore and pick up a Mandarin textbook. The spoken language is fairly easy, as far as grammar goes. The pronunciation is problematic, but you only need to understand, not speak. Seems to me that would be a tactical advantage for the ambitious entrepreneur.

Studying the culture, one would discover that this New Year (Chun Jie or 春节) is the Year of the Pig/Boar, which denotes fertility and virility. It is an auspicious sign to your adversary, and thus he might be willing to take more risks, feeling lucky and all. Certainly, that would offer opportunties to the aware businessman across the table.

You might also learn about 'angpao' and the colors denoting 'luck' and 'properity.' Knowing this information, you could manipulate your adversary by using the colors red and gold on things which you want them to chose, such as your application or bid. You would also know when your adversary is trying to manipulate you, or at least the Fates.

I could go on and on. Certainly, you don't need to take my advice. You're American and you know everything, right? You are owed properity because of your citizenship, right? The world is required to hand you the bankbook and the reigns of power simply because you were born in North America, right? You have no other responsibility for your success, right?

Hell, if for no other reason, knowing a few key phrases in Mandarin, like, "Do you want more tea, Sir," would at least curry favor with your new boss next year. You might get his attention and rise quickly to be his personal servant in the office, thus gaining you better 'angpao.'

Up to you. But, if the Universe was throwing a free lesson on how my adversary is thinking and what he finds important, on my front doorstep every morning, I sure as hell wouldn't be burning it.

The McCarthy-ist acolyte, Richard M. Nixon, became the ambassador who unlocked what was then a closed and mysterious society in the opposite hemisphere. As Spock famously said in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, "Only Nixon could go to China." Well, those doors swung open and unleashed a behemoth that now owns your job and your wealth.

What are you going to do about it? Whine and complain because the kid down the street bought better bases and balls, and now everyone wants to play with him?

No.

You're gong to beat him at his own game.

Now get off your bleassed assurance and get out there and learn some Mandarin, some Chinese culture (and I'm not talking about the local buffet here), and learn whatever it takes to get the jump on them.

First order of business: buy a copy of Sun Tsu's The Art of War, or just read it online. You can bet that your adversary has.

Khrushchev said that the west would sell Communism the rope by which they would hang us. He was right, only the Chinese figured out how to do it. That's why the Russians are cozying up with them right now.

Oh, the the Chinese custom has the family name first, so when addressing your new boss, be sure to say, "早晨好， 先生," using the first name.

Might want to learn the Mandarin keyboard, while you're at it.