Gathering Storms Ahead

GOD'S HAMMER: The Hidden Story of Comet Apocalypse, AKA Elenin

2011-08-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

2012 was always a diversion. The real apocalypse would come a year early…

---- 1 ----

“Michael, there’s one more thing you should know. Carstens is dead.”

“What? How? My God. I’m guessing Messiah is really up the creek now…”

“That’s just it. Our last inside source tells us they’ve stalled. It’s not looking good. Yes, they are sending people now through Interactive Point technology, but they can only send a few at a time. Every effort to build something big enough to transfer any sizable population hasn’t worked.”

“God. It’s not like there’s much time left. So, humanity really might be doomed. Do you know how many have been sent on?”

“So far as we can tell, they’ve successfully sent no more than twenty…”

“What do you mean, ‘successfully’?”

“Uh yeah, good question. Well, apparently over two hundred Travelers have been launched, but the majority never make contact again. No one knows why.”

“Maybe the alternate world they ended up in wasn’t very hospitable?”

“No, that’s not it. They’re at the point where they can do some reconnaissance before committing to a particular universe. What they found is that the same universe, or else very close versions of the ones they locate, continue to remain in proximity to our universe for some time. This allows them to robotically explore a world, at least briefly, before sending anyone. The nice thing is, Apocalypse is close enough now for the probes to verify that specific region of space is clear, as long as there isn’t cloud-cover or something.”

“Incredible! But of course, it makes sense, that close versions of our universe must attract each other, based on my theory of IP Adhesion. After all, if two worlds can actually interact, something must bring them together, and even briefly keep them together. I’m not sure you know, but that was my work, it was the last thing I was doing before they dumped me in this place.”

“Yeah, sorry to break this to you bud, but good ‘ole Dr. Carstens managed to take full credit on that one.”

“That bastard! And I was going to try and feel sorry for him. So, how did he die?”

“Suicide.”

“Of course. Too important to even chance the nuthouse I suppose.”

“Well, I better be going now.”

“Sure Padre. Just don’t come back unless you’re ready to get me outta here. I’m not telling you anymore, and my guess is you really need me now. If you had any idea of the hell they put me through here…every day… I swear I really will lose my mind if I have to stay here much longer.”

“Don’t worry! Now, do your Sign of the Cross my son, they’re watching us.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, one, two, three, four. Thanks for all the updates ‘Father’, it was about time.”

---- 2 ----

Seems like a lifetime ago. I was a research scientist on Project Messiah, so named because we were tasked with being the savior of humanity. A couple years before, the comet we called Apocalypse back then, was found to be on a likely collision course with Earth.

I was fairly sure that we were only one of several groups working toward a solution. No doubt, the nuclear intercept options were on the table, and deep underground bunkers, and others, but our option was the most novel, I thought.

My mentor, the late Dr. Carstens, led Messiah. I was so proud to have been chosen. He was like a father to me, but little did I know at the time that I would come to regret trusting him.

Dr. Carstens’ agreed with the consensus that the comet was virtually unstoppable, but while others worked on their massive Project Noah (which I only learned about while locked away in that miserable hospital), we worked on our Messiah, sometimes sixteen hours a day.

Carstens’ core logic seemed indisputable: No one could divert the comet, and if it turned out to be a direct hit, no one would survive the impact either. As to whether anyone could somehow escape, that was another story. But privately he told me that even if we managed to get enough people safely to the moon, the chances of humanity surviving in that scenario were still very small, and everyone knew it.

Messiah was the classic Hail Mary pass from the beginning, and we all understood the odds, but we were dedicated nonetheless, if not to Messiah, then to the charismatic Roger Carstens.

The genius of Messiah was that we would not waste our efforts trying to stop the unstoppable, nor would we try and side-step Apocalypse, only to have to come back to a world virtually destroyed, with only slim hopes of ever rebuilding her.

None of the above!

Carstens’ plan was simple: We would stay here! BUT, we would find a way to slip into a parallel or more precisely an alternate universe, where Apocalypse wasn’t an issue. And he had been working on the science to do exactly that, his entire career.

I had first met Dr. Carstens at MIT. He was a professor there only briefly, it seemed he moved on, rumors of top-secret government projects, but that was nothing unusual. In his field, it was almost expected.

My surprise when I joined the project was how advanced they already were. In short, they had already confirmed the existence of parallel worlds, and had been using a massive super-computer to predict naturally occurring points where parallel universes briefly came into contact with each other. Interactive points (IPs) we called them, that were found to manifest at regular intervals, but also in conjunction with solar and electrical storm activity. Exactly “where” they might appear was the hard part.

Within the first year, our success rate had increased ten-fold, and we were beginning to learn more and more about the different characteristics these IPs had. One important finding was that some IPs remained manifest for several seconds or more. Another huge finding was how large they could be, so large in fact, that once, a very unusual bird flew “through” one IP, and was actually captured. We all joked about a “new species”, and how evolution might be more complicated than originally thought.

Before long, we had developed a probe, or probes rather, since we had to play the probabilities game, and began sending them into (or through) the IPs we found. We got a hit on the seventh one, and it was able to transmit info about a parallel world for the first time in history.

Unfortunately, the data indicated a world with extreme temperatures, and high carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But it was a triumph, and together with the bird we had caught, everyone was hopeful that we would eventually succeed.

My particular work involved collecting the many seemingly unimportant bits of data that surrounded each IP event, in the hopes that we could learn the exact combination of factors needed to perhaps one day produce an IP ourselves, instead of being forced to find those that naturally occurred. The theory we had been developing could only take us so far, and no one doubted that reality was full of surprises.

Temperature, humidity, hour and time of day, geographic location, altitude of IP (many were at surface level, but some were not). Seismic movement preceding the event. Intensity of the electrical storms. Solar activity, lunar position, and later, even planetary positions. Certainly HAARP played it’s part, at least in the beginning.

We wanted to leave nothing out. Perhaps some combination of “coincidences” would eventually repeat enough so we could discern a pattern. One example, as predicted by IP General Theory, was that IP’s could only appear in “pairs”. It took us a long time to find signs of anything more than the fleeting singular examples we encountered, but eventually, the data proved the Theory correct.

I was the first to notice something odd about two occurrences that happened at sea. In both cases, “coincidentally”, a large ship sounded their horn just before the IP manifested. Of course, the computer had sent us to the vicinity not because of any ships, but because of “symmetrical” storm activity, paired at opposite sides of the globe.

That’s when the intuition hit me. What if, these tiny windows between universes opened somehow to the tune of “music”?

The ship’s horns were loud, but nothing compared to the sound of thunder…Could it be that together, a momentary “harmony” occurs, that either causes, or allows a momentary interaction between universes?

As it turned out, this was indeed the key to unraveling the mystery, at least the half of that mystery on our side of the Earth. It was presumed that wherever the other twin IP manifested, it allowed for the perfect maintenance of equilibrium between the two universes. If matter or energy went in one side, than an exactly equal amount had to exit the other. Perhaps if we had more time, we could have realized the potential danger of sending matter into the unknown. After all, “something” was certain to “come back” through the other side, and it was anyone’s guess what that could mean.

The harmonics breakthrough was huge, and soon, an IP “ship” was being built that no longer required natural IPs, since they could now be created, virtually at will, as long as key conditions were met.

This was a glorious time for Project Messiah, but after having spent several years getting to this point, I began to notice too many personnel changes that didn’t seem to make sense. One critical person after another seemed to quit, or be transferred. I tried to contact a couple of them, but got nothing.

Then came my turn. I woke up in the hospital, with a huge headache that didn’t seem to go away for months. At one point, I simply remember not remembering why I was there, or what I had done before. I had a hard time forming thoughts, and could not speak, words would not come out.

It was a couple years before my regular electro-shock “therapy” finally ended.

Eventually, my memories began coming back, but something told me I could never let them know. I would lie in bed half the day, and all they saw was a blank stare on my face, but inside my mind, I concentrated, and remembered. Little, by little.

One day, I had a visitor. I almost didn’t recognize him, but that was good. I continued to play my part, biding my time. It was Lambert, one of the ones who had disappeared before me. Disguised as a priest, somehow he had made them believe that my family had requested his services for me.

Each week, he would come to visit, and we would talk of Messiah. His story was interesting. He was one of the few who didn’t wait to get “disappeared”, and in fact, if I could take him at his word, he was a sort of spy for a “secret society” that had placed him in Messiah to ensure info got back to his organization. It seemed hard to believe at first, but I was in no position to argue.

It wasn’t long before I realized that Lambert had been “mining” me for info that only I could provide. I was reading between the lines, and the only thing that made sense was that whatever this secret organization was, they too were attempting to build an IP ship, independently of Project Messiah.

The only thing that I wasn’t sure of was whether they really needed me, or not.

---- 3 ----

“Hey, Goofy, wake up! You hear me boy!?”

“What the…”

“Rise and shine Sleepy! Ah, sorry, you dwarfs all look the same to me after a while! They say you’re transferring out of here today, going to a place where they’re going to do more testing on your nutty brain or something. Maybe they’ll make you “Happy”? Get it? Happy?!”

“Uh, I…”

“Just get up you stupid goof! Wherever they’re taking you, what do you care? It’s all the same to you, isn’t it Dopey? Isn’t it?!”

“Please! Please don’t kick m-me, I’m moving…”

“Damn right you’re moving. You know what Goofy? I’m going to miss you. Not just the dumb look on your face, but I’m going to miss putting these - beautiful – blue - bruises, on your shins!”

“Stop it, p-please, I’m going, let me just get…”

“What? Your teddy? That goddamn filthy pillow you carry all around? LEAVE IT!”

“But, p-please…Ouch!”

“Your shins just never seem to get better, do they Goofy? Or are you going to get ‘Grumpy’ on me? Ha, ha! I’m so friggin’ funny! Hey, I wonder if your new place can fix those ugly shins of yours? Must be something wrong with you, doncha think? You need…you guessed it! You need Doc! Ha, ha, ha! Your buddy Doc! Oh, I’m such a scream this morning!”

“O God!! Please! That really hurts… Please, no more!”

“Oh? Didn’t you get it? I said ‘Scream’?! Ha, ha, ha! SCREAM you stupid idiot, no one can hear you from in here anyway! Oh, I’m really gonna miss you Goofy!”

---- 4 ----

“My God Lambert! You did it! Am I really free?”

“Well, sort of. Technically, your records say that you are presently at the hospital we moved you to, but soon the records will show that you have been released. If anyone goes looking, it will probably look like someone made a mistake, but for the most part, yeah, you’re free…”

“Thank God! I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep up my act in that place.”

“Well, relax, have some lunch, but afterwards, we’ve got lots of work to do. Don’t forget, Apocalypse hasn’t gone anywhere, and we’ve got people to save!”

“Lambert, I’m very grateful, I really am, but I’m still not sure why I should trust you. If I had kept feeding you what you wanted, you would have left me to rot.”

“Not true! We were just trying to put a plan together. Things aren’t as easy as you think.”

“Let me ask you this: If we do figure this thing out, how are we going to decide who gets to go?”

“Michael buddy, you don’t waste time cutting to the chase, do you? Listen, I’ll be honest, I don’t even know if I’m getting a ticket. But what else can we do? We have to try.”

“I guess. What about your family? I recall you have a little boy?”

“Well, he’s not so little anymore, but yeah, I know what you’re saying. Hey, I want us all to make it, but the sad fact is, it’s not looking like there’s going to be a whole lot of seats on the escape ship.”

“I’ve got a girl, well, she’s a grown woman now. I want to save her Lambert. I don’t give a damn about myself, but if there was a way, if I had a ticket to give…”

“Hey, let’s forget it for now. The rate we’ve been going, Apocalypse is going to have the last laugh. Finish up there, and join me in the lab. We’ve got work to do.”

---- 5 ----

“How do you know this comet is going to hit us next week? Dad, no one believes this, no one is saying this will happen. You’re the only one!”

“Look, I came here to make amends, after everything, and I’m so happy you forgave me. After so many years, I can understand why this is all a bit too much.”

“Let me ask you this Dad? If you didn’t think we were all going to be dead next week, would you have come at all?”

“That’s a very good question kid. I – Well, I don’t know really, but maybe that’s part of it. When something like this happens, you start to think about the things that need getting done. If that’s why I’m here now, then I guess I’m guilty.”

“Dad, I don’t want to think about the world ending next week! I know you worked for the government, and you say you know things, but that was years ago! For the past seven years, since you left us, Mom would tell us one story after another about why you never came back. And then, I finally find out you were in a hospital, and had lost your mind!”

“Sweetheart, I never lost my mind! I told you, they put me in that place to shut me up. I never lost my mind, and I never did anything to that girl. But you believed them? Is that why you never came to see me?”

“I only found out last year, after Mom died, but it all made sense. And I did want to see you! I wanted to see you so very badly! But I wrote the hospital, and they told me why you were there…”

“And you believed them?”

“I believed my mother! She was only trying to protect us all those years, and even if she never said what really happened to you, when I found out why you were locked up, it all made sense. And besides, it didn’t matter anyway, since by the time I called again, they said you had been released.”

“Yes, I see. Actually, it was only eight months ago…”

“Who cares?! Oh – I don’t mean it that way. Dad, look, I’m happy you came. It was hard seeing you, and I’m glad you seem to be better, but Randy gets back tonight, and if he hears you talking about your comet, he’s going to want to call that hospital, and put you right back!”

“Andrea! You’re all I’ve got!”

“No! You have three beautiful grandchildren too, and they’re going to grow up, and it would be nice if one day they knew their grandfather.”

“Yes! I want to know them! I want them to grow up! What does Randy know about me?”

“Not a whole lot. See this picture? That’s what he knows. And the fact that you went crazy and ended up in a hospital.”

“That nonsense about the girl, it was never true! Does Randy know about that?”

“No! Are you kidding? Do you know how humiliating that would be, for people to find out that you are, I mean were, a pervert?”

“Andrea! My God! To hear you say that… I am not a pervert!”

“Dad! Listen to me! I’m sorry, I don’t know who you really are. I guess if they released you, you’re probably fine. But please! Forget this ‘end of the world’ nonsense. When Randy gets back, don’t say anything about it. Just be normal, please just be normal!”

“Well dear, I won’t say anything to Randy, I’ll promise you that…Fine. We’ll just forget it. For now.”

---- 6 ----

“Michael! Over here! This way!”

“Someone you need to meet…Your new boss…”

“Dr. Simons, I am Natalya Gonyarova.”

“Dr. Gonyarova, thee Dr. Natalya Gonyarova??”

“Lambert has told me that it was you who came up with Adhesion Theory.”

“Uh, yes Ma’m, uh, well, I never got a chance to fully develop it.”

“Yes, but neither did your Dr. Carstens either.”
”So I heard. Rest in peace. I guess.”

“Lambert, show Dr. Simons around, but don’t waste time. We need to get to work!”

---- 7 ----

“Randy! So good to finally meet you.”

“Uh, yeah. Dude, you do not even look like your picture!”

“Almost seven years in the nuthouse can take it’s toll I’m afraid.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. So, you’re not crazy, er, I mean, you’re OK now?”

“I’m perfectly OK! So, Andrea has caught me up a little. You’re a long-haul trucker?”

“Well, a lot of it isn’t exactly long-haul, but yeah, I’m the best there is! I guess I’m not home as much as I’d like to be, but you know what they say, absence just makes the heart grow fonder…”

“Dad, Randy, come on, dinner is waiting…”

---- 8 ----

“Doctor, the probe’s signal is fading! It has only seconds to go…”

“Wait!”

“Did you feel that? That rumble?”

“Yeah! There she is! She’s back!”

“Damn, that was close. A whole month, nine probes, 18 monkeys, and nothing to show for it. But now we’ve got her!”

“She sure looks good! Beautiful! Not a mark on her!”

“Dr. Simons, my congratulations to you. It certainly looks like your last adjustments worked.”

“Quite frankly Ma’m, I’m amazed. I mean, to actually see something that has been to another universe, and back, and to feel it with your hands…”

“Yes, now let’s see how our little friends are doing…”

Inside, two chimpanzees had just made a round-trip like no other. Not even the rumored successes of Project Messiah had accomplished this. With their loss of Dr. Carstens, they had been forced into a far less ambitious plan. And yet, even if they were able to save a few dozen people, perhaps somewhere, a new Adam and Eve might start again.

“Oh scheiss! Doktor! Our equipment says a Class 3 IP is forming right now…Directly above us!”

“What??”

“Oh my God…”

“The rumble…Dr. Gonyarova! I think I know what is happening. This may be the first time in history any physical object has made a round trip through an IP. While natural IPs can sometimes have creatures, or objects come through, one-way, the chances of them going back were always slim. As you know, we never were terribly worried about what happened on the other side of the planet.”

“Yes, I think I see where you’re headed with this!”

“This Class 3 must be the result of an Adhesion Echo. If my initial calculations were correct, this IP could easily be twice as large as the initial opening, but should only stay open half the length of time.”

“Or not!” The technician’s voice suddenly silenced all others. “On-board chronometer indicates there was a 30 % time-rate discrepancy. Mein Gott! Faster than home base.”

“Jesus! That’s the first time that’s happened. What does that mean?”

“Everyone calm down! And no, this is not the first time this has happened, we recorded slight anomalies even with radio transmissions through the IP, so I am not surprised.”

“Doctor, what should we do?”

“We need to leave the facility, NOW! Everyone out! Go! Leave everything. If there is anything left when we return, hopefully we will have learned something!”

---- 9 ----

“Andrea! Andrea! Where are you?”

“Shhh! I just got Cody down for his nap!”

“Sorry, I need to speak to you dear.”

“OK, but keep your voice down.”

“Well, I wanted to say that I had a very nice time with you and your Randy last night. He’s a nice fella, and I’m so happy he is so dedicated to you and the children.”

“Dad, you’re yelling for me - to say this?”

“No, no, of course not. Something he mentioned last night, I wanted to ask you about. He said something about being ‘done’ having kids…”

“Yeah, so what? We have three kids already. Randy’s first wife died, I told you that, his, I mean our two oldest, well…And Cody, he is ours. The birth experience, for me, once is more than enough! So yeah, we’re done.”

“Well sure, of course I understand, yes, but the way he said it…”

“Dad, he had a vasectomy, if you really need to know. Is that supposed to be dinner conversation in front of the kids?”

“Oh, I see. Too bad...”

“What do you mean, ‘Too bad’? What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing! I was just curious, that’s all, I’m sorry for asking, it’s none of my business of course.”

--- 10 ---

“Doctor, are you OK?”

“I am fine. Is anyone hurt?! Let’s do a head count, make sure we all made it.”

“Seems like we’re all here, but that was close! Damn, that was worse than I thought.”

“Much worse. I cannot believe it. All our work…”

“So little time left too…”

“Why God? Why?! We are humanity’s only real hope!”

“So there’s no hope then Doctor? Is that what you’re saying”

“Nyet! I did not say that! We can never give up!”

“But the lab, our equipment…”

“Yes, somewhere, most of our lab has appeared out of nowhere! Can you imagine if intelligent life should find it?”

“Not our problem. But it doesn’t sound like it’s coming back…?”

“No. It is gone, but we have learned so much. Look at that gaping hole!”

“It’s as if a giant bulldozer just scooped up half-a-city-block.”

“How many cubic meters would you guess?”

“Uh, well…”

“How many people could have been transported, with this one event?”

“Ah yes doctor! I see what you’re saying! This could be the answer we’ve been waiting for! But how can we rebuild with so little time left?”

--- 11 ---

“Couldn’t you just stay a few more days? You haven’t been home even 72 hours?”

“Honey, this is a big-bucks haul baby. They pay me the big bucks because I can get it there before the next guy. And besides, if they call me, and I say no, they might stop calling me.”

“They’re not going to stop calling you, there will always be another haul.”

“Yeah, but these biggies only come along every few months or so, I can’t pass it up, you know that.”

“I get so tired of being alone…”

“Hey! You’ve got your Dad back! It didn’t sound like he was planning on leaving right away. Enjoy a nice visit with the old man!”

“Randy…Oh whatever! Fine! Yeah, I know you gotta go.”

“Honey, you’ll be fine. Don’t be mad…”

“I’m not mad! You’re right. Everything will be fine. And we do need the money, Karen’s braces aren’t going to be cheap.”

“I’ll be back before you know it. Now come ‘ere, give me some love! It’s gotta last me four days you know…”

--- 12 ---

“Dr Simons, we have another lab.”

“What? You have another IP lab?”

“Well, not exactly. More precisely, we have another IP ship, and only minimal support equipment. Without the CAL4000 supercomputer, we would have considerable difficulty. As for any meaningful reconnaissance phase, we might as well forget about it, considering the short amount of time left.”

“Doctor, without preliminary reconnaissance, we could be jumping from the frying pan, into the fire!”

“That is very interesting American expression, but I think I understand what you mean. Yes, quite true, we may be jumping to fire.”

--- 13 ---

“So Randy is off again…”

“Yeah Dad, it’s what he does. But he always comes back…”

“Andrea, I didn’t mean anything, he’s a great guy, I’m happy for you.”

“So let me ask you something Dad: When are you leaving?”

“Sweetheart! I hope that doesn’t mean you want me to leave? Haven’t I been good?”

“Oh come on Dad, what ever happened to the End of the World? I might as well say it, it’s the elephant in the living room.”

“We’ve got three days.”

“Oh God, you’re kidding? I don’t know why I was hoping you were going to tell me you had changed your mind, but I’m not surprised.”

“Three days. Hey now, did you mention how long Randy was going to be gone?”

“FOUR DAYS, DAD!”

“Oh dear. I was sort of under the impression he made shorter trips usually.”

“Well, usually they are shorter, but this was one of those times.”

“Uh, I don’t suppose we could get him to make other plans, you know, before he’s too far away?”

“No Dad! What the heck could I tell him to make him turn around? Maybe tell him the world is ending? Yeah, sure. Listen Dad, nothing is going to happen, and I’m going to ask you again, when are you leaving?”

“Well, I guess I won’t be here any longer than three more days…”

“Jesus! Dad, you’re upsetting me!”

“I’m sorry dear, I really am. Maybe I have to find another way to tell you about this. Have you heard about Comet Elenin?”

“Oh my God! Is this what this is about? Yeah I’ve heard about it, people are saying it is coming close to earth, and some nut on TV last night said it might crash into us, but that one Japanese scientist came on right away saying there was nothing to worry about.”

“He’s wrong.”

“And why are you more right than a famous guy on TV?”

“You know, I’m a scientist too…”

“You’re not an astronomer Dad! You can’t know everything, and I think you’re just caught up in this nutty conspiracy stuff about this comet that has been making the news lately. The one reporter said there were thousands of people making preparations, and that some cult thinks a UFO is coming too, blah, blah, blah!!”

“Sweetheart, I don’t know anything about any UFO, but have you noticed the past couple of weeks how many wealthy and famous people seem to be going on vacation?”

“Hmmm. Rich and famous people going on vacation? Yeah, you’re right, that does sound suspicious! NOT! You know what would be strange? If I ever got to go on a vacation! Of course, I wouldn’t have a husband to go on a vacation with, since I never see him for more than a few days at a time…”

“Dear, please don’t cry. I don’t want you to be upset. Please…”

“Stop it! Just stop it. I don’t care if you need to stay here for a while Dad, but don’t talk about any of this crazy stuff. I don’t want the kids worrying about anything, and frankly, I don’t need it either! And if you won’t listen to me, then you can leave. I mean it. I have enough to worry about without this crap.”

--- 14 ---

“Highness, there is news.”

“There damn well better be news! There is a bloody rock bigger than Mount Everest ready to destroy everything my family has spent millennia building, and I haven’t had any news, good or bad for over a week!”

“Our inside sources say that Elenin’s latest revised course is actually going to be maximum impact, not a glancing blow anymore, but it will hit us dead-on.”

“Damn. As if an extinction level event wasn’t already bad enough. I am not having a very good morning Cheswick!”

“I’m so sorry Your Highness…”

“So, what is the projected surviving global population now? With our former projection, several hundred thousand in underground bunkers were still somehow going to survive. What are they saying now?”

“Highness, uh…”

“Out with it Cheswick!”

“The Americans’ best simulations apparently do not show any positive figures.”

“’Positive figures’? As if there was anything terribly positive in all this! How many are likely to survive?”

“None sir.”

“None? What does ‘none’ mean? You mean with all their miserable ‘probabilities’ and scenarios, they are saying it’s all hopeless now?”

“Well…I’m afraid so Your Highness.”

“My God! The Royal Family has spent billions to ensure that we have our seats on their “Noah’s Ark”, and now it seems that even that isn’t enough…”

“I’m not sure I understand…”

“Cheswick! The entire point of Project Noah was to get us off this celestial target, only so we could come back after the mayhem. Tell me exactly what there will be to come back to?”

“Er, I mean, Your Highness, I can’t imagine it’s hopeless…”

“No Cheswick, it is never hopeless, of course. You have been my most faithful subject, and you, and your family, will certainly remain always close to us, no matter what comes of this. But you do see that things have changed, significantly.”

“Yes sir…”

“Send for Sir Henry.”

--- 15 ---

“Good morning everyone!”

“Good morning Grandpa”

“Where’s your mother?”

“Sleeping in. She always sleeps in when there’s no school.”

“Oh. Well that’s nice.”

“Granpa?”

“Yes Cody my boy!”

“Are you gonna live wiff us now?”

“Cody, Grandpa doesn’t live here, he’s only visiting!”

“Yeah, only visiting. He’ll be leaving pretty soon.”

“Karen, is that what your mother said?”

“Yep. Said you were gonna stay for a couple more days, and then were going back home.”

“To the hothpital…”

“Cody!”

“Oh it’s all right. No, I’m not going back to the hospital Cody, Grandpa’s all better now.”

“Grandpa, what was it like in the crazy house?”

“Carl Robertson! Do not speak to your grandfather that way!”

“Karen, Karen, it’s OK. Listen Carl, the crazy house isn’t a place you ever want to go. Let me ask you this? How would you feel if you weren’t crazy, at all, and they still put you in the crazy house?”

“You mean you weren’t crazy?”

“Do I look crazy?”

“Sort of…”

“Carl! That’s enough!”

“Oh, Andrea dear, you’re up? They said you liked to sleep in?”

“Usually I do.”

“Here’s your coffee Mom.”

“Thanks honey.”

“Andrea dear, you have such lovely children.”

“We like Granpa! He’s nice!”

“Oh, and this little Cody, he’s absolutely precious!”

“Dad. I should know better than trying to think before I’ve had my two cups of coffee, but I had a dream last night. I want to talk some more…”

“Andrea?”

“Yeah, I know what I said. I was up late last night, and more people were coming on the TV. I guess maybe you’re not the only one…Even that Japanese guy, he sort of was changing his story…”

“Mom? What’s going on?”

“Nothing Karen! No, I was just talking with your Grandpa a couple days ago about…something. Nothing really!”

---- 16 ---

“Sir Henry.”

“Your Highness.”

“I have had the most miserable couple of days, and I am very much hoping you can lift my spirits.”

“Yes Highness…”

“Please tell me something good about Project Messiah.”

“Ah, well Your Highness, I wish I did have something good to say. Since Carstens died, they seem to have made little progress.”

“Billions wasted. Billions. I am not happy with them. And Dr. Gonyarova? What is her progress?”

“Sadly Highness, there has been an accident. It isn’t exactly clear what happened, but there was some kind of explosion, or something. The main laboratory was apparently destroyed less than 24 hours ago.”

“Jesus Chrisss…! I can NOT be hearing you correctly! The laboratory is ‘destroyed’? How bad? What can be salvaged?”

“That’s just it Highness, one of our people inspected the area personally, there is literally nothing but a very large hole where the laboratory used to be!”

“ARGGHHAHH!! We only have six weeks now before the end of…EVERYTHING!”

“Highness, there is still the other ship.”

“Sir Henry, correct me if I’m wrong, but that ship has seats for five people, does it not?”

“Yes sir.”

“FIVE PEOPLE! I have forty-seven Royal seats on the Ark! I have several hundred of my people in the Colorado bunker! Five people? I would be lucky if they let me take even one of those precious five seats!”

“Most lucky, sir.”

“What!? You…!”

“Er, uh, no, so sorry Your Highness! That’s not what I meant at all. What I was going to say is that without the very powerful computer that they were using, the chances of anyone going that route seem to be rather diminished.”

“My God. This can not be.”

“I’m so sorry sir.”

“You make very sure to get back to me IMMEDIATELY if anything should change. I need to know what is happening. I need to know EVERYTHING that is happening!”

--- 17 ---

"A five-seater!”

“Yes, while the probes had only two simian Travelers, we included bio-mass in the payload equivalent to five humans.”

“Of course, with our latest discovery, it’s not so important anymore. Clearly, our new goal must be to reproduce a large Adhesion Echo that is capable of transferring significant population. Five people were never going to cut it anyway.”

“Dr. Gonyarova, may I ask you about this ‘population’? Who has been chosen, or rather, how would anyone have been selected, considering we never expected to be able to send so many before the accident?”

“A very good question Dr. Simons, and one I spent most of the night thinking about. We are not Project Noah after all, we never had long lists of candidates to sift through.”

“With only a little over a month left, how will we possibly assemble enough good people in time?”

“Take a look at this Dr. Simons. I did some extra work on your calculations after the accident, and I want you to see if you can find anything wrong with my findings. If I am correct, we were quite lucky that the Class 3 that swallowed our lab wasn’t ten-times larger…”

“My God! Doctor, I’ll give this my immediate attention, but if you are right, then it may not be a matter of finding a few hundred Travelers, but perhaps tens-of-thousands!”

“Exactly! And where will we find so many qualified people, unless we contact the Project Noah people?”

“Please Dr. Gonyarova, please…I will ask you to hold that thought until I review your figures. You know what these government sleaze-balls did to me. They stole years of my life, destroyed my reputation…”

“Dr. Simons, I understand fully, and I would never even consider the idea, but we will need good people in the new world. Engineers and scientists, teachers, farmers…families and children even. Project Noah has already selected the very best the world has to offer.”

“Yes, I understand! But Doctor, consider this as well: The minute they discover that we have the best way off of this rock, we will lose control, and if I was to guess, none of us will find ourselves in this coming New World. Instead, they will fill every spot with the rich and powerful, and those they feel can serve them best. Within only a few days of them learning of our discovery, everything will change.”

“You may be right Doctor. We will discuss this tomorrow. Now please give these figures your complete attention. Without the computer, we will have no way of verifying anything. We will have to make our best guess, and hope that there is a God that wishes our survival. We will do our part, and hope that He will do his.”

--- 18 ---

“So Andrea dear, you’ve had a change of mind?”

“No Dad, not exactly. I honestly don’t think the world is coming to an end. The only thing that’s going to happen the day after tomorrow is the big New Age deal downtown.”

“But didn’t you say…”

“Dad! Yeah, I see people talking about this comet on television. Yeah, it seems like maybe some people are worried…I just don’t know what anyone can do about it?”

“What if I told you that there was something we could do about it?”

“Like what? Let me guess: Your old government job means you get to go hide underground or something?”

“Actually, that wouldn’t even do any good…”

“Then what are you saying?!”

“Andrea my dear, there is a plan. I’m almost certain it’s our best chance, and I’m going to tell you, I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you and the kids…”

“Shut up! Don’t even say it!”

“Andrea, please! This is very serious, I need you to hear me out!”

“So what the hell are you saying? Do you have a spaceship or something?”

“Not exactly. It’s a bit hard to explain, but the good news is that we’re going to get through this. But I need your cooperation.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“First, I want you to trust me on this. I know, you have no reason to trust me, but I only ask, this one time. Afterward, if you never want to trust me again, I will understand, but this one time, please tell me you will trust me?”

“Dad, I don’t really know about trusting, but tell me what it is you want.”

“Dear, on Sunday, I want you and the kids to spend the day at the big New Age Harvest Festival downtown.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“No, I’m serious, you need to promise me that you will be there, with the kids. Go grab a couple of beers! Buy a magic crystal! Let the kids play at that nice old park...”

“I’m so confused right now, I…I mean, what does this have to do with anything? And I’m supposed to go downtown drinking beer with the kids in tow, and no husband?”

“You have friends, girl friends that are probably going…”

“Uh yeah, I have friends, and they’re all married, and the ones going to friggin’ New Age Nutty Oktoberfest will have their husbands…”

“Harvest Festival dear…”

“Harvest, Oktoberfest…Who cares? Just an excuse for ten thousand people to converge on our little town and run around half-drunk! Damn, this is a desert, what the hell were these circus promoters thinking when they pushed this Harvest Festival on us?”

“Well, I see what you’re saying, but you need to be downtown. Listen, I told you there is a plan. I’ve moved heaven and earth to make sure that…”

“Dad, I want to trust you, but every time I let my guard down, you say something…something…”

“Crazy. Crazy, right?”

“Well, uh, well yes! What do you expect me to say?”

“Trust dear, remember, trust. And honestly, have I really acted crazy, in any way, since I got here last week?”

“Well, not really…”

“Thank you. My dear, the only thing I’m crazy about is my family! You. The kids.”

“You know Dad, I have no idea what this is about, but I’m actually a bit relieved. I’ll tell you what, we’ll go to the Festival! You get to carry Cody around when he gets sleepy!”

“Uh, actually, I won’t be with you. I’ll be leaving shortly, I’m due back…”

“Oh my God! I just do not get you Dad! You’re kidding, right?”

“No dear, dead serious. Please Andrea, you must do as I’ve said. But I do plan on meeting you there, of course. A bit after two o’clock, to be exact...”

--- 19 ---

“Good morning Dr. Gonyarova, I see you are an early riser as well?”

“Good morning Dr. Simons. Please tell me you are finished. Please give me some good news.”

“Good news? Well, I’m not sure it’s good, but your calculations concerning size and volume displacement are hard to argue with. Thank God the IP on the other side of the world was deep under water. That was the kind of volume that saved our butts.

One other thing that seems to suggest itself is an alarmingly short transitional duration. It would seem to explain the almost ‘explosive’ disappearance of the lab and it’s immediate surroundings.”

“Yes, I would agree with you, but we need to decide what this might mean. Could this reduce our chances of success somehow?”

“Well, if I was to guess, I would say yes, and no. What I mean is that I have little doubt we can create a highly targeted IP Adhesion Echo of considerable size. The question is whether anyone would survive such a virtually instantaneous transition.”

“Hmmm. It would have been nice to be able to examine our chimpanzees on the other side, no?”

“Yes, exactly. For all we know, our lab appeared elsewhere with two very dead Travelers.”

--- 20 ---

“Your Highness, we have good news!”

“For a change! Three weeks to go, and I’m not sure I can take anymore. You've heard about the Archbishop of Canterbury?”

“Yes Highness, singularly poor timing, and horrible judgment too, I might add.”

“Obviously, but he makes my point all too well. Those who know the end is coming are beginning to show their true colors. They’re so worried about facing their god that they are ready to throw everything away.”

“Yes Highness, but I would also point out that he has been suspected of being sympathetic to Rome for quite some time. I would hope that your average subjects would pay him no heed.”

“Who cares about my subjects and what they think!? Damn them all! Now please, give me the news we have been hoping for!”

“While we are unsure exactly what to make of it, Dr. Gonyarova’s team seems to have found a way to transport far more than a few people now.”

“How many? How MANY are we talking about? A dozen? More? Have they built a larger ship? How?”

“None of that Highness! Apparently, they discovered that the movement of the ship through these holes creates a kind of a wake behind it that can allow very large areas to be pulled along with it.”

“Come again? ‘Large areas’? Of what? Surely you have this confused.”

“Uh, well, yes Highness, I admit that we do not understand exactly what is happening, but if you recall the explosion of two weeks ago? That is an example of what we have been hearing. Apparently, the whole area of land, with the buildings where the old laboratory was, all of it was transported. This is the explanation I have.”

“Astounding!”

“Yes Highness, and one other peculiar thing to report. So far, it does not appear as if they have notified the American government with their discovery.”

“Ha! Of course they haven’t! And if I was to guess, they will be the last to know.”

“But Highness, this is precisely what makes so little sense. With so little time left, how will they decide who will be going?”

“Excellent question Sir Henry. On your way out, have Cheswick come in. I have a feeling a certain someone already knows precisely who is going.”

--- 21 ---

“Dr. Gonyarova! Take a look at this!”

“What is it Dr. Simons.”

“I have been up all night working on this new data from Messiah that Lambert and his Mason friends, or whatever they are, well, I’ve been going through it as you suggested, and I think I may have found some very interesting correlations.”

“Yes?”

“Well, Project Messiah actually logged some four-hundred IP events over the years, with over half of those being produced by the technology. However, if we concentrate our study on the naturally occurring IPs, we find that there was a pattern.”

“Yes?”

“I almost didn’t notice it, it’s been so long since I even thought about ley lines…”

“Please say again…Did you say ‘ley lines’ Doctor?”

“Yes! Something I once had an interest in…”

“Doctor! We have very little time left! I am, you are, a scientist. I hope we are not starting to see things…”

“Please Doctor, hear me out. I know, this isn’t exactly mainstream, but then again, inter-dimensional travel isn’t mainstream…”

“Please just tell me Doctor!”

“Of course. I fed the coordinates of all the IP windows known to have naturally occurred, those from Messiah, as well as those from our project, into my laptop. I screened out those connected with HAARP, since they really couldn’t be counted as naturally occurring, and there is no question, there is a discernible pattern, that seems to coincide with places on Earth that would be considered ley-line intersections.”

“Doctor Simons, I am now recalling that the first place you discovered the relationship between sound frequencies, and IP events, you were at sea, no?”

“Yes!”

“And I seem to remember that you were just off Florida…”

“Yes! The Bermuda Triangle!”

“My God! And there was our interesting experience over Stonehenge last year…And…”

“Yes! Doctor, I don’t think these were coincidences. Here’s the important thing: I believe that these locations can give our Adhesion Echo a considerable boost, but even more important, I think they may help ensure a transition that we might actually have a chance of surviving.”

“Doctor Simons, if this is true, this means that we must now find a location, we must not only plan when we depart, but where…”

“Yes! Exactly! And I already have the perfect place identified!”

“Yes? Really?”

“It’s a place out in the desert, not far from here.”

“Yes? The desert…I presume we would have the least interference? But we will want to have a place where there will be people. We need to bring as many people with us as possible. No?”

“Absolutely! I’ve found a place where there will be lots of people, out in the desert, and not too far away. Perfect, in my opinion.”

“Tell me.”

“Sedona. Arizona.”

--- 22 ---

“Cheswick, get Lord Rothschild on the phone. I think it’s time to get to the bottom of this nonsense.”

“Yes Majesty. You do realize he is on vacation at the moment?”

“Of course I do! Everyone who ‘knows’ is on ‘vacation’. Where did the old beast say he was going?”

“Lord Rothschild is presently in Los Angeles, California, where His Lordship’s art exhibit is taking place.”

“Of course he is in America! With all his precious artwork! Damn him! Get him on the phone instantly!!”

--- 23 ---

“Sedona? My dear Dr. Simons, I know about your daughter.”

“Uh, well…”

“Dr. Simons, we can not allow our personal concerns to jeopardize our mission. The very survival of humanity is at stake!”

“I am fully aware of our grave responsibility Doctor! I would never compromise my principles, let alone do anything to hurt our chances, in any way! I would gladly give up my life, if I could ensure that our mission was a success.”

“I believe you doctor, but would you give up the lives of your daughter, and her children?”

“I made my selection of Sedona, based on a number of factors completely independent of the fact that my daughter lives there, and I can show you my assumptions, and if you disagree…”

“I already disagree because there are hardly any people there! I have also been making calculations, and taking into account various considerations, and I have decided that Los Angeles, California is a far better candidate, then Sedona might be, ley lines, or not.”

“Doctor! There will be many people in Sedona! I did not ignore that fact. There is a very large festival planned that is going to bring in many thousands, from all over. I have thought about this issue!”

“And have you also considered racial and ethnic diversity Dr. Simons?”

“Er…What?!”

“You heard me Doctor. Surely you have considered this issue? If we are to be a new start for humanity, would you not want a complete representation? Of as many peoples as possible?”

“Uh, well, I…”

“Ah, you did not apparently think of this? And you wonder why I ask you about your daughter? Please understand that I feel my question is quite reasonable.”

“But the ley lines! They are critical! They make all the difference…”

“We will review your work Doctor, but I will remind you that I did as you suggested already once, against my better judgment, and we never contacted the government. As a result, we do not have access to the people who were long ago chosen to best represent the new humanity. This being the case, I have been forced to make my decision using another approach. I prefer to think now that it might be the right decision. But surely you can see why we must be as inclusive as possible?”

“Uh, well, yes, I do, but did you know that people are coming from around the world to go to this festival at Sedona? It may be even more ‘representative’ than some large city!”

“No disrespect Doctor, but nonsense. Sedona is full of, what you call them, ‘new age’ peoples? These are the peoples to begin the ‘new age’ I suppose?”

“Actually…”

“Please, no more. I will look at your work, but I can promise you nothing.”

--- 24 ---

“Lord Rothschild!”

“Your Majesty! To what do I owe this tremendous honor?”

“Silence, you snake!”

“Majesty?!”

“Silence! You seem to forget who exactly works for whom! You imagine that I don’t know what you are about? You beast! You dare to think that you will save your skin, leaving the Royal Family to burn?!”

“Majesty, please! Who has told you this?”

“You know very well that my ears are everywhere, but who cares? The real indication was always going to be where you, and your precious art ended up…”

“Not true Majesty!”

“Silence! Your Dr. Gonyarova has a way out, and you dare to exclude your Sovereign?”

“She is not ‘my’ Dr. Gonyarova Highness! She is Rockefeller’s loyal servant, no doubt through his servile Masonic minions, but it is he who has been treacherous from the very start! I have had my hands full trying to keep up with his long trail of deceit, but I have discovered his plan, and only in the nick of time! Of course, I was going to notify you!”

“Poppycock! You, and yours, always wanted to rule the Earth, while Me and Mine have in fact done so. Your despicable jealousy has always betrayed you Rothschild!”

“Majesty! I swear to you that I am innocent of these vile calumnies! Someone has told you these things, and again, I swear I am innocent!”

“Shut up Rothschild, and tell me now where Gonyarova is planning on saving humanity, as if I didn’t already have a very good idea…”

“Uh, well, Majesty, my people have only moments ago, informed me that she has chosen Los Angeles.”

“Ha! Oh, what an immense surprise! You disgust me Rothschild. Prepare to welcome your Sovereign, and His Family shortly. We all have been struck with a sudden desire to enjoy sunshine, and view your stupendous collection of course! So gracious of you to accommodate Us on such short notice!”

--- 25 ---

“This is Alycia Lane, KNBC Los Angeles reporting from downtown, where thousands of people have come out to see His Holiness Pope Peter II. While some have said that his choice of such a name did not bode well, considering old prophesies, you would never know it today looking at so many people!”

“Yes, Alycia, the faithful seem to have come from far and wide with this mostly unexpected visit from His Holiness. Is it true that the Dalai Lama will be meeting with him later tomorrow?”

“Yes Chuck, this is what I have heard as well. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around this whole thing. Usually, such events are planned far in advance, and yet Governor Schwartzenegger and the Mayor are scrambling to roll out the red carpet, on seemingly short notice.”

“Alycia, this just in! If I’m hearing this right, His Royal Highness King Charles, along with Prince William, and others, are also going to be in town this weekend!”

“Chuck, I’m getting this now as well. Seems like something is really going on! I’m not sure if there has ever been so many VIPs in LA all at one time, ever before, or at least as long as I can remember!”

“Alycia! We’re now hearing that the President will be coming? It seems like every important person in the world is heading our way! I really don’t know what to make of this…” 

--- 26 ---

“Dr. Simons, I have been going over your work. I must admit that your data is compelling. I do not buy into your ley lines, nyet, but I see the patterns, and it is possible that there is something here.”

“Doctor, you don’t need to call them ley lines, of course, we don’t understand exactly what is going on with this pattern, but considering the possibility that we will still fail, even with the very best odds going for us…”

“Fail? We can not fail!”

“Exactly Doctor! We simply cannot fail, too much is riding on this. Logic tells us that we need to have every possible advantage working for us. It is the prudent thing to do.”

“Sedona is not the only place that this phenomenon could work to our benefit, I see that several others are there, one in France, another in South America, and perhaps the one with the most concentrated population, is in Vietnam…”

“Listen to yourself Natalya! I know those places, and yes, Vietnam is the only one with significant population, but it would be far from diverse, you know that.”

“Natalya_?”

“I’m sorry, uh, doctor…”

“No, no doctor, er, Michael. We should be less formal, considering we may indeed be at the end of days. Why not simply be…people…?”

“Doc_, uh, Natalya, I’m going to admit something to you. Just hearing you say that gave me shivers! I mean, you never seem like you even accept the possibility of defeat, and well, I guess it’s the elephant in the living room, but, do you really feel we could fail?”

“Yes Michael, I am a scientist, of course we can fail…Of course, we, we can…fail…”

“Natalya! It will be OK! You’re really going to freak me out if you start going to pieces,. You are my Rock!”

“Ah Michael, my comrade! I am no rock. I am not strong. I am not good. I…”

“What? What are you talking about? Natalya, you’re as good as it gets my dear! I have never worked with anyone so dedicated, with so much integrity…”

“Integrity? Ah…I have no integrity! I have, how you say it? ‘Sold out’. Michael my dear comrade, we work for very powerful peoples. Of course, how could it be any other way? This is the way of the world, no different in Russia. We follow orders, like everyone else.”

“I don’t understand. Natalya, sure, this kind of science needs money, I know that. I thought that you, I mean we, worked for, well, the Masons or whatever, that they were trying to help humanity, you know?”

“Ah yes, Masons. Who keep secrets, and work for which peoples? Tell me how you think?”

“Well, I don’t know what to think, it’s just such a desperate situation, I guess I thought that maybe…Well, maybe this was better than the government, who just do the bidding of the rich!”

“Oh Michael, Michael! We all do their bidding. I have known for a while now who our employer is. Well, I suppose I don’t know who HIS employer is…? It doesn’t matter! We will succeed, or fail, and in the new world, things will be different, no?”

“Yes ‘comrade’, you’re right! Absolutely, a new world awaits us. By the way Natalya, you DO have integrity, and this is how I know. You honestly considered my proposal, even though without the ley lines data, your proposal is clearly the more logical choice. And yet, I see that you understand my case, and have allowed it to persuade you…”

“Michael, I am not sure yet. I must think more about it.”

“But we have so little time! You know Natalya, sometimes I wonder how we ended up so close to the deadline, considering the many years that we have known about Apocalypse, or ‘Elenin’, as they have named it now. Tell me again about why they chose that name, you never finished the story?”

“Yes, of course. When I found out about the official ‘new’ name for Apocalypse, I suspected right away that the name had to have meaning. And then I saw this Leonid ‘Elenin’, and burst out laughing! His real name is Leonid Dobrynychev, I knew his family in Russia. His father and my father were both KGB, and worked together. So, one day, I casually mentioned this to our principle benefactor, and he explained that the word “Elenin” was chosen for various reasons, and that if I knew Hebrew, it would make more sense. I laughed, as if he was telling me a joke, and dropped it. But later, I looked it up, and it seems that it means something like ‘God’s hammer’.”

“God’s hammer? Sounds ‘apocalyptic’! I was out of the loop for so long, but when I first heard the name, I was sure it had something to do with 911.”

“Yes, that is also true.”

“Tell me why that would be? We didn’t even discover Apocalypse until after it already happened…”

Michael, it is like this. We knew of this comet, years before regular peoples, no? I have learned, that there are very powerful peoples above us, that have known about this comet, for a very long time.”

“How long, and how is that even possible? We learned of this comet because one of the fourteen Solar System Perimeter Guardians detected it. Of course, no one knows about our ‘real’ space program, but are you implying that there is technology even more advanced than what even we have been told?”

“Yes, and no. It is more complicated, and…I feel like we should not speak more about this. We have things to do, not much time.”

“Natalya! Don’t leave me hanging like this! What are you saying, ‘aliens’ or something?”

“Please Michael, enough for now, we have work to do. Good night.”

--- 27 ---

“Granpa’s leaving?”

“Yes Cody, Grandpa needs to go for a little while, but I’ll be back real soon.”

“You better be back! Don’t worry, we’ll be seeing Grandpa this weekend, in town.”

“Goodbye Andrea, bye kids. Be seeing you soon!”

--- 28 ---

“Dr. Gonyarova, Dr. Simons is missing.”

“Missing? What? He does not answer calls?”

“No ma’am. Security cameras malfunctioned, so we don’t seem to have a record of him leaving either. Should we notify the police?”

“No! There is very little time anyway. He will return, or he will not return. We do not need him, I think. I hope…”

“But doctor, we need everyone at this point!”

“Do not panic! What will be, will be. Please return to your duties, the IP ship needs to be ready, and we may not get a second chance.”

--- 29 ---

“I do not understand how this is possible! There is simply no time to make such an absurd change!”

“My Lord, our inside source has not confirmed the change yet, but there are other indications that a change has been ordered as well. For example, we know that Dr. Simons has gone to Sedona, Arizona, and met his family there. No doubt he would be there for other reasons as well, but Dr. Gonyarova seems to be feigning ignorance, since we know that she has been in touch with him there as well.”

“Of course she knows, she is literally the most powerful person on Earth right now, God help us, she probably knows everything!”

“’Most powerful..’?”

“Not in that sense Wilton, but she does indeed have the power to decide who lives, and who dies, and at this point, there is little time left to determine if her plans allow for us.”

“But sir, you paid for everything, how could anyone be so ungrateful?”

“Shut up you fool! She is Russian, I have no doubt she would love to see us all disappear, and find herself in a new world one day without...without people like me.”

“Yes sir. I should remind you that the King is arriving shortly.”

“Indeed.”

--- 30 ---

“Natalya!”

“Michael! You startled me!”

“Well, I’m back. So far, all is going to plan.”

“Yes, is going like plan. I am glad to see you back. Please, come with me, I need to smoke.”

“OK, what’s going on? You quite smoking months ago.”

“Well, I have, how you say it? Relapsed. There is so much pressure…”

“Let me guess, Lambert and his crowd. They’re getting nervous.”

“Michael, they are nervous, but they found out that we changed plans, and were not taking Los Angeles with us. Yes, Lambert. He made it very clear last night that we must not deviate from official plan. And they are listening to us. I hope they can not hear us out here.”

“Jesus! So, what can we do? There’s no time left!”

“We have a plan.”

“What do you mean, ‘we’, what are you talking about?”

“Ah, Michael dear. I have been dealing with these peoples all this time. I knew things might come to this. Schmidt. Yes, he is very able technician, but he is also engineer, and very good mechanic too, did you know that?”

“Not really, but what does Schmidt have to do with any of this?”

“After our lab accident, I knew that we would be watched even more than before. With only one IP ship, we had few advantages left. We needed another ship.”

“What?! Impossible! There is no way Schmidt could have built another ship, even if he had dozens helping him. Natalya, what are you saying?”

“Do you remember that Schmidt took some time off, we said he was injured in the accident?”

“He was injured, somewhat. I thought you told me he had family business to attend to, and you allowed it to look like medical leave?”

“Yes. But what he was doing was building a duplicate, or…this is not right word for it. Ah, yes. He was building a counterfeit ship.”

“Say again? Did you say counterfeit?”

“Precisely. Schmidt built a ship that looks like the real one, from the outside at least.”

“How on Earth are you going to get anyone to…Ah, forget it! Natalya, you wouldn’t have told me this if this fake was headed to Arizona, would you?”

“Michael my dear, do not worry! In my heart of hearts, I know it is humanity’s best chance, ley lines or not, we simply can’t take chances. Truthfully, sometime after our discussion of this issue, I was reviewing the Messiah info, and realized that the only time Traveler radio transmissions ever confirmed a successful arrival in the other universe, it was at your ley line locations. I knew this was no coincidence. Twenty travelers made it, and almost two hundred others, I presume, did not. Why this is, we can only guess, no doubt it involves a temporal delay mechanism, but how a particular geographic location could even begin to effect this…Well, we can not even consider Los Angeles anymore.”

“Brilliant! Of course, this makes sense. The low success rate had to correspond to some variable. Even a small temporal delay would eliminate the lethal effects of an instantaneous transition. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Michael my dear, you thought of things that no one else dared to consider.”

“Watch it! I’ve got an ego you know! Now wait a second… Natalya, why again did you need a counterfeit ship? Why not just tell the people funding our project to go to Sedona? What’s the harm? Lots of people can go now.”

“Yes, maybe true. Oh Michael! I feel terrible! Why, why do I have to decide such things?”

“Why do you feel terrible? You must have good reasons. Tell me.”

“Michael! If you only knew who these peoples were! These peoples…They are not human!”

“What are you saying?”

“No, I don’t mean like that. These very wealthy peoples, I have thought much about them. They are why humanity suffers so much. The way they think, the power they have, the many, many people they have killed, or allowed to be killed. Do these peoples have rights to live, only because they pay so much money?”

“Natalya, I don’t think anyone can say whether anyone should live, or not. Rich, or poor. We’re all people.”

“And yet, we must decide. Michael, let me ask you, ‘should’ we take these monsters with us, to the new world? If we did, how long would it be, before they recreated all the horrors that we hope to leave behind? Would we not be guilty of something just as bad, or worse, if we allowed them to go with us?”

“Uh, well…Natalya! I see what you’re saying, but if I understand the technology, having another few hundred, or even few thousand more people, won’t change our chances. All these…rich people…they know about this secret plan. Sure, they’re rich, and maybe they’re not exactly nice people, but maybe having another thousand people will prove useful. I mean, in the new world, why would anyone care who used to be wealthy? What real harm could they do?”

“I have thought these very things, I really have. I so want everyone to live! And yet, I see this as a real chance for people to have a new beginning. These peoples, I can tell you some of their names! I feel that if they came with us, it would not be long before things degenerated again. I feel so…responsible. Not merely for lives being saved, but Michael, are we not responsible for making sure this world to come, is the best we can make it?”

“I guess I’m not sure Natalya. Part of me feels like someone will always get back on top, and history will just repeat itself, you know? Listen, I’m with you, whatever you decide. You have more information that I do, you have thought about it. I won’t judge you, ultimately you must do what you think is best.”

--- 31 ---

“This is Chuck Henry, KNBC Los Angels reporting live from LAX, where in just minutes, King Charles arrives with his entourage. With Air Force One landing earlier today at LA Air Force Base, there are a lot of red carpets rolling out today in the City of Angels.”

“Thank you Chuck. And don’t forget the Dalai Lama, who is scheduled to meet with His Holiness Pope Peter II later today. That is a lot of red carpets!”

“Yes Alycia, more than I can remember, well, in my lifetime! You mention the big meeting later today between two of the world’s most important religious leaders, do we know yet if there is any truth to the rumor that President Obama will be meeting with King Charles?”

“Chuck, there is no confirmation yet on that, but a meeting is widely anticipated. What no one seems to be explaining is, why Los Angeles? Why now? Some of us are wondering what is going on, and so far, no real answers. Perhaps you can ask King Charles shortly what is happening. Stay tuned, we will be back after this break…”

--- 32 ---

“Your Majesty!”

“Rothschild! You beast!”

“Highness…?”

“Listen you crafty old usurper, I have just received a very interesting report…”

“Please Highness, allow me to explain…”

“Explain? Really? I will listen to you Rothschild, and would very much hope that whatever it is that you are about to tell me does not contradict, that which I already know…”

“Uh, er, well…”

“Out with it man!”

“Of course Your Highness, yes! I only just now confirmed that Randy Robertson is indeed on his way to Los Angeles right now.”

“Yes, this I already knew…”

“But did you also know about what they call his “load”?”

“His load? You mean you have looked inside?”

“Yes! Highness, I am quite confident that a portion of Los Angeles will still be going to the New World. You see, when our man looked inside, what do you imagine he saw?”

“Tell me…”

“This man has the IP ship inside! Yes, it was covered in canvas, but our man had time to slit it open just enough to take these photos…”

“Give me that! Hmmm….”

“What we think has happened is that they somehow created a duplicate ship of some kind, perhaps only a façade…”

“Exactly! And how do we know that the ship inside this truck trailer, or whatever they call it, how do we know it is the real one then?”

“Uh, yes, I thought of this as well, and have concluded that it is most likely the real one. Our man positively identified that the driver was Randy Robertson. Logically, if it is him, he will not get back to Sedona in time. Logically, considering he is family, it stands to reason that he has the real ship, and the others will be along shortly.”

“But the other ship will be headed here as well?”

“It already is on it’s way!”

“So, no question, we run no risk at this point of these miserable animals trying to outsmart us in Arizona. However, if I was to guess, there will be two places somewhere in this Los Angeles area that we must be prepared for.”

“Nothing to worry about Your Highness. The truck is being watched, and even the slightest variation in route will be addressed immediately. We are fully prepared to force a stop, and we will take it from him. We will be in full control of both ships.”

“Ha, ha, ha!! Excellent! Well Rothschild, what would the New World be like without us?”

“Fortunately Your Highness, it appears that our New World will not suffer the burden of our absence, he, he…”

--- 33 ---

“Natalya!”

“Michael.”

“The IP ship is on it’s way to LA, along with the whole friggin’ crew!”

“Shhh! No, it is not. Relax, all is going to plans…”

“I don’t understand. You said you had a fake ship…was this the fake one then?”

“Michael, Michael dear…”

“What’s going on?”

“Listen to me. I have burden of whole world upon me! I have to decide things…There was actually two, how you call them? ‘fake’ ships? Yes, two were made.”

“So why the big secret…from me?”

“Michael, I couldn’t tell you. Do you remember telling me about your daughter’s husband?”

“Randy??”

“Yes, Randy. He drives truck, no?”

“Yes, so what?”

“Michael, your Randy is driving truck to LA, is not true?”

“Uh…Well, he wasn’t going directly there, but yeah… Oh wait a minute! You can’t mean…?”

“I am very sorry, so very sorry Michael! I have ‘hand tied’, like you Americans say…”

“My God. I can’t believe it! You sacrificed my daughter’s husband?!”

“Shh!! Keep voice down! I had no choice! Lambert, and who knows who else, all ready to betray us. I had to make them think we had ‘secret’ plan…”

“We did have secret plans! But frankly, I have no idea what the hell they are anymore! Let me guess, you’re actually double-screwing me, and Randy will actually be fine, but me and my daughter, and the kids…!”

“Shh! Michael! Nyet! Not true! You, daughter, kids…All will be fine! Only Randy, I’m so sorry, but he was the most logical choice…”

“Logical? And, ‘only’ Randy? What about the rest of the crew?”

“Yes, I am sorry, most of crew is sacrificed to…I could not trust them! They have watched you, and me, and listened, and knew about Sedona…I had to make it look like…”

“Stop! I understand. No, I really do. I suppose me mentioning Randy’s vasectomy didn’t help either. He wouldn’t make much of a ‘New Adam’ where we’re going…Jesus. What the hell do I tell my girl?”

--- 34 ---

“What the hell is that? I wasn’t speeding! Why the lights and the loudspeaker?”

“This is the California Highway Patrol, pull your vehicle to the side of the road and come to a halt! Stop your vehicle now!”

“Sheesh! I’m damn near there too. This is why I hate driving in California! OK, OK, you pricks, I’m pulling over…”

--- 35 ---

“There’s police everywhere! They have my daughter’s house surrounded, I couldn’t get near the place!”

“Do not worry Michael! They are safe!”

“What? I thought…”

“We are running out of time! I cannot explain everything. They are looking for me, we must separate. You must get downtown. Stay in your disguise. I will fly the ship by myself.”

“Natalya! What happened to my daughter and her family?”

“They stopped the truck with your Randy less than 30 minutes ago. I suspected they would do so, and when they found the fake ship, they would immediately inspect the ‘real’ ship, and will soon find out that it is also fake.”

“How can you know this?”

“The fake ship has monitoring equipment, and has sent be transmissions so I could monitor it’s status.”

“OK, whatever! What about my family?!”

“Michael, they are safe, I had them, how you say it? Kidnapped? Last night, as a precaution. They should be waking up shortly. And if you let me do my job, they will wake up in the New World!”

“You kidnapped them?”

“Michael! I must go! You must go! Trust me!”

“I DO trust you Natalya, my God, I can’t do anything else but trust you…”

“Thank you Michael! Now go!”

With so little time left to save humanity, the two embraced, and kissed for the first time. Both thought the same thing, that it might also be their last.

--- 36 ---

“My Lord, it is confirmed, the ship is just a shell.”

“Damn it all! Have they found that despicable Russian woman yet?”

“No My Lord, she, and Simons, and his family… All have disappeared.”

“When will they know about the other ship?”

“Soon My Lord. They should be opening it now.”

“Get my jet-copter prepared this instant! We are going to Sedona!”

“But we will know shortly about the other ship…”

“I am not stupid! Let our King sit around waiting for an answer that should be obvious by now…Hurry!!”

--- 37 ---

“This Dr. Simons guy, he’s a goddamn perverted pedophile rapist, and a real first class son-of-a-bitch...”

“How did that monster manage to get out of prison anyway? I thought he was in for life?”

“He was actually in a nuthouse, if you can believe it. Liberal idiots! Some paper shuffle screw-up or something. Who cares? The main thing is, he was last seen here in Sedona, and he is supposed to be armed and dangerous.”

“Let’s just shoot the friggin’ pervert, the minute we see him!”

“No! Our orders are to take him alive!”

“There’s a lot of people in town right now Captain. These photos…hell, could be a thousand guys look like this…”

“Yeah, except that we just received a nice message that gives us a big advantage.”

“OK, so what is it?”

“While Simons was at the crazy farm, they managed to stick a little RFID chip in his worthless skull. They say he has no idea it’s even there!”

“Captain, we just got that Homeland Security equipment in last month, haven’t even got trained on it yet…”

“It’s all about frequencies, or numbers, and they just sent us the numbers to set our tracker with! Piece of cake!”

“Awesome! Well, let’s find the pervo nut-ball quick so we can still get us some beer later on tonight! Maybe we’ll take him back, and stick him in with Bubba, and see what’s left of him in the morning! Ha, ha , ha!”

“Exactly what I was thinking! Ha, ha, ha!”

--- 38 ---

“King Charles is on the line My Lord.”

“Who cares? Soon, we’ll be in Sedona, and he will be…in Hell!!”

“Uh, oh my! What do I tell him?”

“Give me that you fool! Your Majesty?! I was hoping to hear your voice, uh, one last time…”

“What?! Rothschild, where are you?”

“Where am I? I am, oh, about twenty minutes from…Heaven, he he he…”

“Rothschild? You sound insane! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Ha! ‘Wrong with moi?’ Ah, that is humorous! There is nothing at all wrong with me!”

“I am getting very, very..ANGRY!! Rothschild! You insolent…you…”

“Just SAY it Highness! Go ahead! I would just love to hear a final slur fall out of the royal mouth! I should tell you that it won’t hurt my feelings much. You see, it would seem that me, and mine, will soon be the undisputed masters of a whole new world!”

“You miserable ANIMAL! Listen Rothschild! I have your lovely young wife very close at hand! I have a bad feeling she is going to feel my wrath, amongst other things!”

“It is you sire, who are the animal! Go ahead, have your way with her! Of course, I was quite certain you enjoyed older women…”

“Rothschild!!”

CLICK

“Now THAT felt very, very good!”

“Uh, yes My Lord.”

“CORRECTION! You will henceforth refer to me as ‘Your Highness’!”

--- 39 ---

“He’s somewhere in this crowd.”

“Doesn’t that thing get anymore specific than that?”

“I’m not sure. He’s close, that’s for sure.”

“Adjust that dealio there…”

“Shut up! Like you know how this thing works, you retard!”

“Both of you shut up! These days, lots of people have these damn chips in them. We’re going to have to get a few more officers here, and then we’ll be able to surround him. As soon as he sees what we’re doing, he’ll probably bolt, and we’ll nab him then.”

“Yeah. Good plan. So, what about the rich dude coming in on the helicopter? What’s he got to do with this Simons guy?”

“He’ll be here shortly, and I want everyone on their best behavior! He’s from England, and the way I heard it, it was his little daughter that got raped by this slime-ball Simons!”

“Holy crap! He raped a rich dude’s kid? Hey, maybe he’ll like, give us a million bucks each or something, for catching him! Or maybe we can cut off his…”

“Just shut up, all of you! This rich guy is the mayor’s personal friend, and that’s what’s important to me. I’ve known the mayor a long time, he’s one of my closest friends, and his friend, is my friend. As far as I’m concerned, the entire department needs to have the same attitude. I don’t even know his name yet, but one thing I do know about him, he has to be very, very rich. They say that the jet-copter he is on, is the fastest in the world, faster even than military copters!”

“Damn! I want to see that thing!”

“You will! In about 15 minutes or so…”

--- 40 ---

“Natalya, can you hear me. Natalya, this is Simons, can you hear me?”

“There is static. Wait, yes, that’s better. Michael, can you hear me?”

“Yes! I hear you! Hey, I’ve got a problem. There are a lot of cops showing up, and they seem to be encircling the crowd that I’m in…”

“Michael, I will be there soon! Very soon, maybe 15 minutes at most! You holds a hanger there!”

“The saying is ‘hang in there’! Sheesh, so, how can they know I’m here? Maybe they’re looking for someone else? So, can you tell me where my daughter and the kids are? Can you tell me now, I’d like to be near them in the transition?”

“Michael, they are here, with me, on the ship!”

“What!? Are you friggin’ kidding me? Goddammit Natalya, I thought you were alone!”

“Michael, they can maybe hear us! I told you to trust!”

“Natalya, you do know that those on the ship are probably going to run a higher risk than those of us on the ground, don’t you?”

“Michael? What are you saying?”

“Well, I guess it’s my turn to surprise you, finally! I would have told you, but what was the point, you had made your decision. And you told me you were alone!”

“Michael? Why more risk? What you mean?”

“When you snap back through the IP, triggering the Adhesion Echo that is going to pull half of Sedona along with it, the explosive force, even if it is mitigated by the ley lines in this area, is still going to accelerate us all, violently.”

“I know this Michael! I am in the air, I should be fine!”

“No, don’t assume you are going to be fine! I’ll be on the ground, and probably live through the equivalent of a seven-point earthquake, but will any of us be conscious on the other side? We may eventually wake up, but at least I’ll be on the ground!”

“Oh Michael, I see what you say now! If I lose consciousness, I can lose control of ship!”

“Exactly! This isn’t a ‘small’ risk Natalya, it’s a big one!”

“Our kiss? Was goodbye kiss then?”

“Jesus Natalya! What could I say? You know I love you!”

“Michael! I’m so sorry about your family!”

“Natalya, are they awake?”

“Not yet.”

“Tell them I love them when, er, if they wake up…I mean, in time.”

“Michael! I love you! I will tell them!”

“Just do your job now, save the world, and if you can, save you and my family too.”

“I will see you again Michael! I will!”

“Gotta go, cops headed this way. Love you, see you soon!”

--- 41 ---

“We are almost there My Lord, uh, I mean, Your Highness!”

“Excellent! The town is still there…”

“What the…”

“That flash! What…”

“Pilot!! Stop this instant, turn arou…”

--- 42 ---

“How much time before Elenin arrives?”

“Less than one hour Your Highness. It will impact at precisely 11:11 PM, uh, London time that is.”

“How soon will we be in Sedona?”

“We’re almost there…”

“This is the pilot! Your Highness, I’m banking slightly right now, please look out your window.”

“Oh my God! They’re gone! William! They’ve left without us!! ARGH-AHHH!!!!”

“What do we do now Father?”

“Thanks to that Russian whore, we can’t even get back to Colorado in time! And the Noah ships have all departed!”

“We’re doomed! Elenin...God’s Hammer...will be upon us…”

--- 43 ---

“Anyone hear me? I can’t see anything, my eyes, dust…”

“Yeah Mulvany, we hear you, we’re right here. You’ve been unconscious.”

“Sheesh, that was friggin’ scary! I’ve never lived through an earthquake before…”

“Well Sarge, we’ve been talking about it, and we’re not sure this was just an earthquake.”

“What? What the hell was it then?”

“You’ll have to see it to believe it. Here, clean out your eyes…”

“Holy Mother of…What the hell is that?”

“It ain’t the red rocks of Sedona, that’s for sure!”

“It looks like?, Jesus! It’s a damn pyramid! I huge friggin’ pyramid!”

“Yeah Sherlock, that’s exactly what it is.”

“Well, we better start helping these people guys. Looks like a lot of confused people waking up all around us.”

“Hey Mason, why are you so calm? Do you know where the hell we are?”

“Let’s just say we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

--- 44 ---

“Over here! See us? We’re over here!!”

“Thank God! I’m coming! Oh my God, you’re all OK! Tell me everyone is OK!”

“Yes, we’re all OK! Slow down, you’re going to have a heart-attack!”

“You made it! You all made it!”

“Granpa!”

“Come here, all of you!”

A small group of people embraced. Behind them, an immense pyramid rose up from a strange landscape.

“Michael, this is the New World. It is not what I expected!”

“Yeah Dad, this is such a beautiful place, but it’s sort of spooky, or something.”

“I think it’s perfect! I can almost imagine unicorns running through the grass!”

“There’s no such thing as unicorns!”

“Wait a second Carl, we don’t actually know that. In this world, unicorns might be very real.”

“So Dad, who do you think lives here?”

“Natalya, do you remember seeing anything from above, before you landed?”

“I don’t remember too much. I tied my blouse to controls, to hold them. I wake up, almost going to crash! I pull up last minute! Ship is over there, maybe 500 meters. It probably will not fly again.”

“Well, that explains that. I thought maybe it was the heat. Real cute bra by the way.”

“Dad! There’s kids here!”

“Sorry. Hey, first thing, we best head back to where the town was. Lots of people there. I woke up before most of them, and went to find you. I’m glad the cracks in the earth were so large, it helped me figure out your most likely direction.”

“There’s other people, like real regular ones, from Earth?”

“Carl! We’re all from Earth, we aren’t on another planet!”

“Hey, the kid may not be too far off the mark. For all we know, whoever built these things aren’t even human.”

“Dad! You better not be trying to scare us! You did enough of that already!”

“Honey, I’m being dead serious. Heck, as quiet as everything is, maybe there aren’t even people, or whatever they are, here anymore. We pretty much know nothing about this new world.”

“I wish there weren’t any buildings here. I wish we were only peoples.”

“Yeah Natalya, I guess I’m sort of with you there, but we knew this was going to be a crap shoot, and all things being equal, I think we could have ended up in a much worse place.”

“Shhh! Duck down everyone, get low.”

“What the hell…”

“Shhh! Andrea, be quiet, and for God’s sake, keep the kids quiet…”

“Everyone just stay calm and quiet. Let’s wait for them to pass.”

--- 45 ---

Several hundred yards away, two long columns of Sedona townspeople were being escorted by rather tall and strange looking beings, carrying what looked like long poles. Some of the people were crying. The tall ones kept them in line, occasionally shoving them roughly as they walked toward what appeared to be a long bridge, across beautiful blue water. On the other side of the bridge, a giant pyramid waited patiently for the new arrivals.

“OK. Stay down. I think they’re gone, but it looks like Plan B now.”

“Dad, what was that? Who were they? Were they aliens?”

“It would have been nice to get a closer look, but I’m glad we weren’t any closer. Actually, they looked human, at least they walked like humans. But they were what? Eight or nine feet tall? Damn.”

“What the heck are we going to do now?”

“They will be all over the town at this point. If I was to guess, they probably found the ship too, or will find it, pretty quick.”

“Michael! We might be only peoples they don’t know about.”

“Yeah, and I’d like to keep it that way, at least until we figure out what these people are up to.”

“Dad, which way to do we go?”

“Well, the old town is that way, the pyramid is over there, and just beyond on the other side is the ship that crashed. I’m going to say we try to go this way, since it’s the only thing left.”

“Natalya? Are you OK? Come here my dear. Don’t cry, it will be fine.”

“Michael, why? Why do we escape, only to find chains again?”

“We don’t know that! We don’t know anything yet, let’s not assume too much.”

“It is a pyramid Michael. A pyramid.”

“I know, it’s got me a little freaked out too, I admit it. But let’s not jump to any conclusions yet.”

“We run from pyramid! In our old world, it was symbol of peoples who were so bad, and I make so sure they could not come with us! For what? Michael, they are here. That is their symbol. Can we ever be free of them?”

“Shhh. We’ll be OK! Maybe, maybe we’ll just have to keep running, I don’t know. Maybe, this is just the way it is, everywhere. Maybe they won’t be so bad!”

“Maybe…”

“Looks like a big expanse opens up just beyond those trees. We should be able to see more.”

“I’m going to beat you all!! Try to catch me!”

“Carl! Don’t get too far ahead!”

“Whoa. That looks weird! What is that? It looks like…”

“You always have to be first, don’t you! Whoa! It’s like a forest of...columns?”

“What are you kids looking at?”

“Those aren’t columns my dears.”

“Michael? Let me see. Oh my God!”

“Jesus Dad! It reminds me of like, Arlington Cemetery or something…”

“Obelisks! Michael, they are obelisks!”

“Very bizarre. Must be tens-of-thousands of them…”

“Pyramids. And now obelisks. Do you remember Michael what we said before? We said we might be jumping to fire!”

“Yes, I remember. I can’t imagine what a sea of obelisks might mean, but it could be we’ve landed in quite the frying pan…”

"Hey! Look at that one!"

"Yeah. It almost looks like someone crashed a...a helicopter into one, maybe?"

"It sort of looks like a bit of smoke or steam or something...maybe it crashed not too long ago..."

"Well, it could have been worse. People could have survived that, I'm pretty sure."

"Should we go down, see if we can help?"

"No way! All it tells me is we need to go in another direction. We can't take chances! Not until we figure out what the hell kind of world this is."

"Chances? What kind of world? Ah, whatever. Let's head that-a-way. We're going to need some water pretty soon..."

END

Above Top Secret: Banned!

2011-08-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope it was "just a mistake", but it has been more than a year since I used this blog, so it's good to warm it back up I suppose.

Yesterday, I tried posting a special fictional story to ATS, "Above Top Secret", an alternative news, conspiracy website.

For some reason, when I posted my thread, their system crashed!

This morning, the website was back up, so I tried reposting my fictional story again.

BAM! The site goes down again.

Frustrating.

So, I go away for a few hours, hoping whatever the problem was will be corrected. I come back, and have some "U2U" messages, one from ATS top dog owner "Skeptic Overlord", with some explanations that my story contained violations, and or, was too long, etc.

Another U2 message was (seemingly) from another member, asking what happened to my thread, the one about Comet Elenin. I go to answer, and immediately upon hitting "send", get the big screen that says "You've Been Banned from ATS!".

Crazy stuff.

Anyway, I sent a message direct (you know, in case it's a mistake), I'd like an explanation. Of course, the goofy screen they use to tell you you're banned almost makes you think it's a joke.

Anyway, will post more, as I learn more.

For those on ATS who "find" me here, congrats! This blog is so old, you would have to be a genius to locate it.

Thanks for reading.

JR

The Coming Slave Religion, Part 4...Revealed At Last!!

2010-05-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last time, we discussed the very controversial topic of the Jews, and the role they may be playing as we march toward a New World Order. As it turned out, they may not be behind every bad turn humanity seems to be making after all. In fact, it seems more likely that they too are being “used” by our hidden masters, to help usher in the NWO, just as other various groups have been used. Our conclusion was that their unique traits as a people, possessing a strong identity, left them well-suited for more than just a bit-part in the whole affair.

And so after taking this long tour, exploring religion from the point of view of those in power, we can draw some preliminary conclusions:

First, religion is useful for the effective control and management of people, due to the principle that self-control, will always be more efficient than any external means of control, such as police.

Second, it is reasonable to assume that those in power have long ago recognized the fact that religion is so important for their ends.

Third, to achieve their goal to expand their power with the assistance of religion, they might easily create religions and organizations, clubs and lodges, that they deemed useful for their ends. They could also infiltrate and subvert existing religions / organizations, to bring them under their influence, and eventual control.

Fourth, nations / peoples would also be subverted, harnessed and controlled. The key idea here, if a people should possess an identity, that identity would tend toward cohesiveness, which would mean that the entire group could potentially be mobilized, if necessary. The stronger the identity, the more potent the tool, and thus the Jews were logically “chosen” to play a central role in bringing in the NWO, since those in power would be unable to resist harnessing such a useful force, as they pursued their goals.

But these subversions were not occurring in a vacuum. Everywhere, through every channel, people would be recruited to the cause, most unwittingly, as various banners went up, and people naturally followed. Socialism, Communism, Naturalism…”ism” after ism could effectively divide the masses (so later they could more easily be conquered). Religious revivals and denominational divisions, new cults, new evangelism, and even the deployment of technology to put emphasis to that which best furthered the over all agenda, all this was coming into play. Perhaps those in power did not write the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, but they could have. As mentioned in the Protocols, through the professions, science, academia, politics and of course, churches, synagogues and lodges, all would proceed according to plan, which would eventually deliver a powerful hegemony to the Chosen. Or, were they only patsies, playing their role?

It’s time to take another step back, to better appreciate the immense power that is apparently unfolding before us, as we consider those in power, who have for centuries (some say millennia), worked to consolidate and perpetuate their power. If you have been persuaded that there are indeed very powerful people, multi-generational families, nobility and royalty, that have the wealth, power and desire to extend and maximize their power, then it may be easier to accept that they have already achieved a high level of success. In other words, the world we see today is in fact a “product” of those aggressive pursuits of power, and the landscape we look out on to, was made by them, and for them.

This includes most especially that which you believe. They have enjoyed the power to create, and subvert religions for many generations. They also have the power to virtually rewrite history, as it suits them. They harness whole nations, pit one against another, control finance, and therefore economies. They appoint judges, they have Presidents elected, and make sure that their media organs comply, all to weave a web, or perhaps better put, to fashion the chain, forged to enslave your mind.

All this has already come to pass, and yet, the plan is not yet complete. Remember, the only thing you would want as the wealthiest person in the world, would be more power. Such an insatiable dynamic has governed the evolution of society, and is behind all of history, even if they should shroud it’s truer versions.

With all this in mind, imagine now if you will the “perfect” religion for those who would serve you. They would dogmatically embrace, all that you have dictated. They would not just obey you, they would imagine that they were in obedience to the highest entity imaginable! They would, in their enslaved minds, obey God, and yet, you would know that it was you to whom in fact that they gave obedience, since it was you who had given them that which to believe. Perhaps you are a cruel master, but no worries, the slaves will not revolt! They truly believe that they must obey, this is their lot in life. And perhaps afterwards, they can imagine a “heaven” where they might finally “rest”, but for now, they must SERVE! Doesn’t this sound at least a bit familiar already?

Time to rejoice! This wonderful slave religion is already here, hallelujah! No, rather Baha’u’llah! It is called the Baha’i Faith, and while relatively “new”, it goes back only 150 years, it seems uniquely suited for the world’s slave population. It conveniently embraces ALL the main religions of the world, and claims to be where each of the old religions always pointed to. A universal and incredibly inclusive monotheistic religion that is based primarily on Islam, Baha’i also reaches out powerfully to Christians, and even Jews. Almost unbelievably, followers of Krishna and Buddhists also have a special place within Baha’i! No wonder it is the “religion of the United Nations,” but more on that later.

This religion, far ahead of it’s time, is completely tolerant of all. Since they don’t believe in Satan, or evil in the usual sense, they also seem to have no fear whatsoever of concentrating all power into one world government. They also advocate one-world language. Total equality of women worldwide (still an issue within Islam of course). One-world court. One universal calendar. They hold inter-racial marriage as a high ideal! They were pushing for a League of Nations as far back as 1875. And on and on.

You would be hard put to formulate a more syncretistic religion if you tried. It is as if someone thought about exactly that. The question may have been, “What kind of religion could we envision for all mankind, while taking into consideration the enormous differences that presently exist?” Answer: Baha’i. “What kind of religious faith could result in the eventual eradication, through mixing, of all races?” Answer: Baha’i. “What sort of universal quasi-religious concepts could possibly advocate one-world government? Answer: Baha’i. And again, on and on.

In order to create such a religion, one would have to accept the reality of a long-term plan. Perhaps the questions imagined above were asked at some point, but consider that it may have already been centuries ago. In preparation, some key pieces would have to be “pre-positioned”, so that at the appropriate time, all could fall into place.

Enter the United States of America. Yes, even the founding of a nation would have something to do with the “religious” part of the plan. The significance of America is that she is the world’s present “universal” nation. Not since Rome, and perhaps before that, since the ancient Atlantis of myth, has there been a nation on Earth that could lay claim to some semblance of universality. True, England accomplished an Empire where the sun would never set, but they could never quite qualify as a universal center, due to their history. On the other hand, that old English power could be seen to continue to this day, through America, but now adequately sanitized of it’s ugly past. And so a proto-type “universal nation” was created, that would one day play a central role in “universalizing” the entire world, into one body.

Within this young USA, not long after it’s founding, a young Joseph Smith made some incredible revelations. He said that he had found Golden Tablets, met with God / Jesus and / or the Angel “Moroni”, and then took dictation for what would become the famous Book of Mormon. Interestingly, Mormons “coincidentally” utilize much Masonic symbolism, but then again, many believe that the Prophet Smith was a Mason. Also, here was a recent example of a “Christian” church, that advocated plural marriage! Can we think of another major world denomination that has a Prophet, and also advocates plural marriage? Yes, Islam. Mormonism, seen from this perspective, is a kind of “Christian Islam”. My goodness, if we could just get yet another “Big Tent” religion to enter the scene, perhaps something interesting might still happen!

And now, back to Baha’i. Back in 1912, the leader of Baha’i actually came to America, and toured, making speeches, and making “prophesies”, etc. In one famous prophesy, he said “Armageddon” would begin in two years! Two years later, the First World War, which today is interpreted accordingly. But he also preached about the coming one-world government, and for some odd reason, made a special stop at…Salt Lake City!

His name was Abdu’l-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, and he headed straight for the Mormon Temple! There, it is said that he “knocked” (on the East door), but it was not opened to him. Perhaps of no importance you may be thinking? On the contrary, the stage was now set!

Until next time…

The Coming Slave Religion, Part 3...But, What About...The Jews??

2010-05-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Few topics could be more controversial these days, but if we're going to discuss religion, we would be remiss in our duty if we ignored Jews and Judaism. While this group is relatively small compared to others, their importance is magnified for several reasons. First, theirs is the first "Abrahamic" religion, and obviously the two that followed, Christianity and Islam, are huge today. Second, it is generally accepted that Jews, despite their smaller numbers, exert a disproportionate amount of power and influence in the world. Third, Jews possess an “identity”, regardless of the religion they practice, or fail to practice. They do in-fact feel as if they are a “nation”, even if they live in hundreds of countries around the globe, meaning that they continue to have a loyalty to their own, no matter where they live. Therefore, their collective "role" if you will, should be examined carefully, especially as it pertains to our thesis, which involves a coming "slave-religion".

For centuries, Jews have been almost "universally" vilified, and most especially in Europe, where their numbers were greatest. This being the case, it isn't hard to imagine that many Jews were in fact "victimized" by what had become a "cultural thing" in Europe. Europe was mostly Christian of course, so in a way it was perfectly "natural" to treat Jews, Muslims, Gypsies, etc., as outsiders. Even if some of these people "converted", they remained under suspicion, with the perfect example being furnished by the "Conversos" of Spain 500 years ago. As the Spanish conquered the Iberian peninsula, Moors were driven further south, and Jews who chose to remain, were put in the difficult position of choosing either "demotion" to second-class subjects, or to "convert", and continue to enjoy the privileges that they had become accustomed to under the Moors, who had considerably softened by the Fourteenth Century. As we know, many apparently chose to "convert". While some conversions were perhaps genuine, it is generally held that most of these conversions were not true at all. They were done for convenience, based on the situation, and so what evolved were formerly "Jewish" families, who now had a Christian exterior, but secretly maintained their Jewish tradition and identity.

So far, the above may not be terribly controversial, although no doubt there are those who are biting their tongues, thinking that the interpretation holds the Jews in a positive light that they haven't earned. This could be because one way of regarding the history of the Jews is to assert that they "deserved" much of the ill treatment they received, due to their "disloyalty", usurious money-lending, suspected crimes performed in secret, etc. Either way, it seems fair to say that, for whatever reasons, Jews have passed through an interesting history that I would guess explains much of what we see in Jews today.

And what might that be? For starters, there is the instability in the Middle East, ever since Zionists found themselves competing with the Palestinians for the land that would become the nation of Israel. No, this isn't saying the Jews are responsible for the instability of themselves, but it is curious that wherever they find themselves, it could even be said that "when" ever they find themselves, there is a clash, and there is no better way to say it, but it seems that everyone ends up "hating" the Jews. Of course, this is hardly a "politically correct" thing to utter, but it's damn close to the truth, and many Jews over the past century especially, have written extensively about exactly this. While you may not "hate" Jews, most perhaps do feel "hated", unwelcome, not trusted, treated as outsiders (in spite of smiles and handshakes, etc.) Add to this the more recent unpleasant Nazi era history, and it's easy to see why Israel appears so "harsh" to the rest of the world. In other words, Jews in general, seem to really believe that they have been unfairly "persecuted", and it's possible that many of their collective actions are at least partially explained by this shared viewpoint.

This situation suggests a rather unhealthy dynamic of course, not that different than that of many other racial groups that feel persecuted, or interpret their particular histories with continuing bitterness toward the historical oppressor. Black people in America may easily "relate", as they look back at not just the slavery of their ancestors, but even very recent institutionalized discrimination, especially in the South. It could be said that this shared history "colors" their outlook. Are you a white man, who has a black employee? You aren't just the boss, but you're "The Man"! And even if you both get along just fine, even if you both enjoy true friendship, there is a "something" there in between, and there's little you can do about it.

And so, the Jewish "subculture" if you wish, certainly contains unhealthy elements due to their perceived history, and explains behavior in the same way as it does when considering any other racial group. But here's the big difference: As mentioned in the first paragraph of this post, Jews seem to exert far more power than their small numbers would lead one to believe at first glance. No, this isn't just a faulty perception. If you have read any articles intended for Jewish readership, perhaps in a Jewish periodical, or on a Jewish website, one thing you come away with is their laudable sense of pride in their accomplishments. No, this isn't a bad thing at all, anymore than it is wrong for black people to take pride in having Barack Obama as president. But it shouldn't be too controversial to state that Jewish wealth and power, compared to other peoples, gives them an edge when it comes to important decisions in politics, medicine, law, and yes, even religion! In every area you can find a strong Jewish representation. Probably the best example is Jewish influence in the media. It would be no exaggeration to say that they "own" much of the media we turn to when we want news and entertainment. Further, this isn't something denied necessarily by Jews, who may justifiably take pride in the fact that their people are making such giant strides. But arguments are still going to arise when interpreting what this means for the rest of us. Because with such power should come responsibility, and yet, if there is one certainty, power corrupts...

By now, some may have decided that we are surely leading up to "antisemitism", even though we have managed to pretend for a while. But that's not where we're going, unless you choose to "color" it so. Instead of trying to figure out how the Jews are manipulating things, or leveraging their obvious power, we need to take a hard look at how the Jews might themselves be "used"! No, this isn't what "either side" normally would prefer to consider, but I believe it's relevant to the world's situation today, so at the risk of irritating pretty much everyone, I'm going to tackle it.

Jews today find themselves in positions of power more than at any other time in history, worldwide. Sure, we have a "black" president in the US, but his cabinet has incredibly strong Jewish representation. And so did "W"'s cabinet, and as far as Clinton's, well it's almost legendary. It could be fairly said that "most" top government positions are occupied by Jews. A recent Supreme Court nominee? Jewish. Name the most powerful lobby in the US? Is their job to secure continued funding for Israel? And on and on. Is it any wonder the Arab world considers the US and Israel as virtually the same entity? Recognizing these things should not be considered anything more than calling a spade a spade. It is our present reality. And this situation does not just exist in government, but in other important fields, such as medicine and law, Jews have seemingly gained remarkable ascendancy, for what ever reasons. In short, we must consider the fact that Jews literally "dominate" the US, in the most important ways. When you consider the fact that this is also much the case in other nations as well, it isn't hard to see why some "conspiracy" theorists cast serious suspicion on Jews, and boldly wonder what they might be up to.

After all this, I would suggest that it's still quite possible that worldwide Jewish leadership, as obvious as it is, is anything but obviously nefarious. As many Jews might point out, their "rule", if you would characterize it that way, is benign. They are good doctors. Good lawyers. True, many are on the more "liberal" end of the political spectrum, but by and large, they have championed the rights of the downtrodden, etc. And besides, if there was a "Jewish Conspiracy", how on Earth could such a thing really work? Are they giving out orders in the synagogue? Do they all belong to secret organizations, and communicate with secret signs? You see, when you think it through, such a thing begins to collapse.

BUT, when considering the possibility that the Jews, as a cohesive subcultural group, could be "used" in some way, here we should not be too quick to dismiss the possibility. Because to do such a thing would NOT necessarily require a widespread "conspiracy". The "manipulation" of the Jews could be accomplished by simply harnessing their unique traits (good or bad), or perhaps more believable, we might ask, could the Jews, as a cohesive people, be effectively "guided", if such a thing suited those "really" in power?

I think that the reasonable person would answer YES. Just as various minority groups throughout the world have been "manipulated", so it could be with the Jews. Were the blacks involved in civil rights protests "guided" back in the 1960's? The evidence shows they were, more than some would like to believe. Who was always the head of the NAACP (until relatively recently)? No, not Martin Luther King, Jr., but Jews. No, this shouldn't be regarded as a kind of vilification of Jews at all. Perhaps many honestly believe this was yet another manifestation of Jewish civic responsibility. (In fact, it is part of the Jewish identity to regard themselves as something of a "gift" to mankind.) Right or wrong, it was correctly determined that it was the "right time", and that black anger could be a useful catalyst for change. This is history, and it is rather recent too.

Now let us imagine that we are that fanciful "Prince" from earlier posts, yes, of Machiavellian flavor. You believe your destiny is to rule, and you have considered the strengths, and weaknesses of the Jewish people. After all, the more you think of it, it seems that they are uniquely suited to help further your goals. How so? They have this admirable loyalty to their own, and you have observed that if one is being attacked, the others quickly close ranks, and protect. In fact, even if certain Jews have expressed contrary views (as an example, perhaps they are anti-Zionist), when another Jew is being attacked, they seem to be able to put many of their own differences aside. In short, the old saying comes to mind: Blood is thicker than water. And you approve, because such a beautiful idea is nowhere better expressed than in your own family lineage, where only your noble Blood is sacred.

You look to their weaknesses. You notice how convenient it is, the world already hates them! Nice. You wonder how best to use these people. In fact, the more you think of it, the more you resolve to bring the matter to the King's attention (your father). You explain the matter to him, and you can see he likes your idea, most certainly he approves, he is nodding his head as he always does when such is the case. But when you finish, you see the huge smile breaking out on his face, and it is too reminiscent of the one you remembered on your grandfather's face, years ago, when you had first observed how useful it would be to create a religion. "My boy! Walk with me..." Your father, the august and mighty King of the realm, now shares with you the news that your incredible family has already "been there, done that"! "And the Nazi's father?" "How could it be otherwise?!" Once again, while you are surprised, you're really not. You feel that old sense of pride welling up. "Truly, we are born to rule!"

I would submit that such a scenario has likely taken place, in some way, already, and perhaps longer-ago than we dare imagine. You might learn one day about the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion", and see in them (now over a century old), some very provocative and prescient "directions", ostensibly for the Jewish people at the time, which seem to have "come true". No, I would not care to automatically characterize the infamous Protocols as just another Jewish slander, but Jews should take another look at them, and instead of taking the knee-jerk route, look again. Forgery? Probably. But regardless of "who" wrote them, Jews should consider the possibility that they are in fact a bit of "evidence" that they "might" be victims, yet again, but in a way that might make "Nazi" sound nice. Because if they are being manipulated somehow, it could explain a whole lot. Further, we should ask that if this is the case today, how can the Jews get off the train at all? Even those few who recognize the extent to which they are apparently being used are treated quite badly by their own. It reminds one of the black subculture, where perhaps a smart young man decides he would like to study math, or go to college, etc., and from his own people he will be slammed as an "Oreo", a wanna-be white, etc. When do they stop to consider how such an attitude (regarding learning as "white") is exactly the kind of thing that is their "real" problem! And if the white man really was their enemy, you could even go further, and imagine that terribly retrogressive idea being intentionally "planted", a long time ago on the plantation.

Yes, such notions are a "stretch" for today's media-immersed chaser of bread and circuses, but the general notion at least needs to be considered. Why? Because the whole point is that segments of the human race are being used to further an agenda that may indeed one day lead to the total enslavement of mankind! It's that "Big". Again, in a nutshell: The mere fact that a people (any people) possess "identity", is the very reason they can / are being used by the powers-that-be (and yes, some of these hidden masters may indeed be Jewish as well!). Please stop your knee from jerking, and consider this: Hitler used the Germans. Is it so hard to imagine that Jews were the first to see the “power” in their own people, and therefore the first to exploit such a power? No, this doesn’t mean that Jews are behind it all, but they seemingly have a large piece of the pie. The world is indeed a play, and we all merely players, but I would submit that the role of the Jews is hardly a bit-part in the Play.

Next time, we'll get back to the perfect Slave Religion, because it's coming...

The Coming Slave Religion, Part Two: A Look At Religion Through the Eyes of Our Masters

2010-05-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

In the last post, we considered the possibility that wealthy and powerful people might do all sorts of things to preserve their power and position. We might think of the world's "royal" families, or perhaps the infamous Bush or Rothschild clans. It seems reasonable to expect them to do whatever it takes to maintain their status, even if the world is moving away from monarchies and nobility. Some of the things they have done, and are likely doing even now, may involve espionage, "secret societies", and even the waging of all out hot wars.

Another thing they would likely find useful is religion. In many ways, religion can be shown to be beneficial to the "management" of people, and lends general order to a society, since "self-control" is easily more efficient than having to maintain huge police power. At a minimum, it can help preserve the status quo, but religion could be used "offensively" as well, not merely as defense. So let's consider religion in this context. As a multi-generational master of the universe, you might wonder what an "ideal" religion would look like, from your point of view. Since you plan on maintaining (even increasing) power, for you and your descendants, in perpetuity, naturally you focus on the factors in religion that would tend to further your goals. But alas, you are not god (yet!), and so you go "shopping" around the world, evaluating the various existing religions. You decide that each has some merit, but to be honest, you're not entirely satisfied with any one of them. Suddenly, the light bulb goes on! Why not just create the "perfect" religion yourself? Oh, you can't wait to tell Duke Grand PaPa your splendid idea!

As you finish your little speech about creating a "perfect" religion for your subjects, you are happy to see that the Duke seems as pleased with you, as you do with yourself. His usual wry smile seems especially in alignment with the sparkle in his eyes, and he has patiently listened to your plans, with obvious pride in his Blood. And while you would be correct in your deduction (he is proud of his Blood!), it isn't because of your brilliant idea at all! In fact, he puts his arm around your shoulder, and invites you to take a stroll...

"You have proved yourself ready for yet another family secret my boy." Your heart skips a beat. You recall the time when they shared with you the secret of "true marriage", and you relished the memory. "The fact of the matter is that we have been creating, infiltrating and controlling religions to serve our purposes...for centuries!" Your mind reels! Of course! It all made sense now!

Obviously a bit of fiction here, but could we not see some version of this scenario playing out in reality? Remember, there are very wealthy and powerful people, generations of families that not only have a "motive" to do such a thing as create a religion, but they might also have the means to do so. And today this would apply as never before!

In the last post, I mentioned Dianetics. No, it's hardly a "slave-religion" for the masses (too expensive!), but it is a good example of a recent man-made "religion" that had various purposes, easily beyond what was released for public consumption. Not to get into the whole affair, but it might be fairly "obvious" that one of the reasons for Dianetics has everything to do with "who" the members are. Many names we know, such as John Wayne, or John Travolta. People in the public eye. Regardless of what you believe about this "religion", there can be no doubt it is important, because the people influenced are important. Now, if you factor in the mind control that is their forte, and it's multiplied effect throughout the "audience", we might easily wonder who would have gained from putting together such a religion.

And so it is going back in history, as we evaluate various religions that seem rather well-suited to maintaining a ruling elite. We could begin with Christianity. As most know, the traditional version of this religion is essentially a believe-or-burn (forever) formulation. Automatically, we see that "fear" is the operative element. No, that doesn't mean it is "fabricated" by an elite, but it could easily indicate it has been subverted, or molded to fit into the desired paradigm of those powerful enough to subvert, and then gain by such a subversion. As a major "proto" religion for many Western variations, "Christianity" has been used, and continues to be used today, by those in power.

Islam is another major world religion that should be examined. Also utilizing a "fear-based" approach, Islam is the religion of a billion plus people in the world today. Those in "control" surely would have reason to subvert, exploit, and mold such a religion, even if at first glance the task seemed daunting. In fact, one way or the other, it needs to at least be "accounted for" as plans for total control are implemented. Not taking it into account could lead to blunders, and too many of those could possibly cascade into the eventual collapse of a powerful dynasty. Certainly, Islam needs to be understood, and then harnessed accordingly.

How about Eastern "religion"? First, we have to be careful not to include those "religions" that are actually philosophies instead. Sure, a philosophy can be dangerous too, but in general, their power pales in comparison to the fiery power of fanatic religion. So Buddhism, Taoism...they're out. Don't worry too much. Although, there are hybrid forms, such as Tibetan Buddhism that could be trouble, but fortunately, they are small, and virtually irrelevant at the moment. That leaves Hinduism. Fortunately for the elite, Hinduism, while practiced by a huge percentage of the world's population, is not "a" religion, but it is literally thousands of them. Not that it's completely irrelevant, but it's power is not necessarily "negative" from a control point of view. In other words, it would take a lot to get Hindus to cooperate in any significant fashion, beyond the cultural power beneath. Instead, the real "power" of the Hindu lies in the shear weight of their collective ancient myth. To simplify, we might call this a "Vedic" myth, or perspective. I would suggest that it has already been "harnessed" rather nicely over the past century in the form of what is today called: The New Age Movement.

Truly, religion is powerful, and we could easily imagine a modern Machiavelli counseling the wise use of it by his Prince. Next time, back to the present, and America, and on to: The Future...

Masonry, Mormonism and...Islam?? A Slave Religion for the Coming Plantation. Part One

2010-05-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Imagine that the world is your oyster! You have money, and power, prestige and even pride in your ancestry. In fact, let's further imagine having a "family tradition" that says your inherited wealth and power, and great position amongst mankind, has to do with your Destiny. From an early age, you are told that you were born to rule, and that "commoners" are born to serve. Only occasionally do you question these "inbred" notions, perhaps when you actually encounter a commoner who seems smarter than you, but no matter. They are poor, you are rich and perhaps even royal, and your ancestry goes back a long ways, proving how special you are. However, not all is as you might have it. For example, when you are old enough, you also learn that you are not going to be allowed to simply marry anyone you please. But, you don't worry too much about it, because they have explained quite conveniently the true function of "marriage", and it is nothing like the commoner version at all! Traditional marriage, in the Western sense is regarded as necessary to aid in controlling the unruly masses, but like most rules, they simply do not apply to the masters, only to the slaves. True, you might occasionally be tempted to lead a "simple" life, and wonder what things might be like if you weren't burdened with the Care of your subjects, but for the most part, you wouldn't have it any other way. And besides, it's your Destiny to rule!

No doubt, images of the British Royals swam in your mind as you read the above. Certainly there are people who, for better or for worse, are "born to rule". Of course, most of us might indulge in the notion that these old remnants of the past will one day be history, and all shall eventually be equal, and there will be truth and justice for all, etc. But "what if" the powers that be have no intention of allowing their vast power to slip away from them...EVER. Perhaps you feel this would be unrealistic, and you might even mention the "fact" that most royal families are already "history", which would seem to confirm the idea that the old ways are truly fading. But what if some, or even just a handful of powerful families today believed that it was their destiny to rule FOREVER? You know, even if they merely believed in such a fanciful thing, you would have to think that, with all their power, they could still do many things in their attempt to accomplish their goal. What would that look like?

Perhaps, as they began to discern the changing times, they would make use of all the power they had to "engineer" or manipulate events to their ends. They could perhaps start a war. Or maybe they would create organizations that seemingly had one purpose, but secretly had another. Or, they could simply infiltrate existing useful organizations, with the intention of molding them to their purposes. If for some reason, another dynasty proved to be a cross-purposes to theirs, they could bring entire nations into the battle. With such dynamics as these in play, even crafty outsiders might see incredible opportunities for profit, and get in on the action. In short, we would likely see a world "at war", with most of it going on in secret. A world a lot like we live in today.

But what of the title now? Masonry, oh of course, but Mormonism? And Islam, well, maybe that could be useful, seeing as how they were implicated in the false-flag attack of 9/11. But Mormonism? Pahleeze!

One thing that Mormon scholars have had to deal with over the years is the fact that much of their symbolism appears to have been "borrowed" you might say, from Masonry. Of course, for those who maintain that Joseph Smith was certainly a Mason, it would all make sense, but remember that the devout Mormon must believe that their religion is much more than that. After all, there were Golden Plates, and there is today a most special Book of Mormon, all "proving" the truth of what they believe. In other words, they believe their religion is divine, while the rest of us dismiss it as merely human. But let's suspend judgment just a bit perhaps, and wait to see what pans out.

Now let's put Mormonism aside for a moment. Isn't it interesting that Masonry "borrows" so much from...Islam? Oh, you haven't thought about it quite like that before? Ever see that scimitar (sword) on the Shriner's hat? How about the "crescent moon" and star underneath? Well, what do the Masons say? It seems that they regard their history as having direct roots in the Muslim world after all The way the story goes is that during the Crusades, some knights captured Jerusalem, and discovered Solomon's Temple. The Knights Templar is naturally what they called themselves, and it's a historical fact that after their time in Palestine, they became fabulously wealthy, to the point where major conflict developed with various royals who felt threatened by them. Masonry asserts that not merely wealth came of their "discovery", but even more importantly, secret ("occult" or hidden) knowledge. Again, let's not immediately dismiss these ideas. In fact, at the time of the Crusades, Europe had fallen far from the Classical Age, and learning was barely being kept on life-support in monasteries. However, in the Arab world, a sort of "pax arabica" had spawned a Golden Age, and everywhere in the Muslim world was learning and knowledge on the increase. Mathematics is the most famous Arab discipline that Europe received, but that was not the only thing. Medicine, literature, astronomy, etc. On every front, knowledge was expanding. So, looking at the old Templar story should not cause too much doubt, even if there was no Solomon's Temple. They may have easily absorbed important knowledge from what was at the time a superior culture.

Back to Mormonism now. It may be difficult to fathom, but if there were very powerful people in the world who wanted a useful club, organization, or even religion formed, they could make the necessary arrangements. A more modern example of such a contrived "religion" might be Dianetics. Either way, whether Mormonism was intentionally created for some reason, or not, it still may prove to serve "their" purpose. But we're not quite there yet. One thing we should do, as we look back at how Mormonism has been "used", and how it is being used today, and how it may be used in the near future, we must ask: Who benefits? And regarding the future, what might Mormonism have to do with Islam of all things? More on that in Part Two...

Ebay Declares All-Out War on Sellers As Donahoe Takes His Revenge

2010-05-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ebay recently announced upcoming changes to their ongoing seller-extermination pogrom. Chief Executive Cocksucker Donahoe comments on the matter were secretly recorded by one of his rogue staff members. Donahoe simply said, "Fuck the goddamn sellers!"

A lot of water under the bridge already of course, since Donahoe has singlehandedly killed off hundreds of thousands of small and medium sellers over the past few years, while his diabolical seller inquisition mercilessly rolls forward. Naturally, sellers loathe the piece-of-shit, and aren't as shy as they used to be when denouncing his utterly retarded and insane innovations. As a result, the son-of-a-bitch has taken a bit of flak here and there from stock analysts, who are starting to figure out "who" the problem is over at eBay. This has angered Dickahoe, and he has charged his staff to "get tough", and "take out as many sellers as possible, as soon as possible!"

Immediately, dozens of ass-kissing subservients went into high gear, and their latest pogrom means only the real big sellers can remain. Why is this? Because the real big sellers have special "contracts" with eBay, which is another way to say the "rules" don't apply to them. Ever wonder how the biggest sellers, racking up a hundred negative feedbacks PER DAY are considered "Top Rated"? No, it's not just that they beat the statistics, it's that their contracts literally say they don't have to worry about the idiotic eBay rules. And this makes sense, because big sellers would never sign up for a "coin-toss" business, allocating a sizable investment, only to have silly eBay rules stop them dead in the water. That would never fly, and besides, if you're big enough, you could even sue the eBeast.

And so the small and "medium" sellers are done for. By the way, before you decide none of this applies to you, you are a "good" seller, or maybe you are a "big" seller, you had better really read about the upcoming changes. Remember, all this is already on top of the infamous "no negative" policy, and the ludicrous "DSR's", and the recent massive fee increases (eBay cast this biggest fee increase EVER as the lowest fees ever!). Now, you are going to have to hope that the Post Office, or UPS, or whoever you use, does their job, EVERY TIME. If they drop the ball even once, you're screwed!

Here's how it works. If one of your beloved buyers should open a "Dispute", because they didn't get their item, it will now count against you. Wait a minute! That sounds fair. "Why don't you crafty sellers just give us our stuff?!" Look closely. The buyer merely has to open the dispute, and it counts. Do you ship out "same day"? It doesn't matter! Do you always use tracking numbers? It doesn't matter! Again, read it and weep. If the buyer merely opens a dispute, you've got a problem. You may show a tracking number, that you shipped immediately, and you might even protest that it's only been two fucking days since they made the purchase! You argue that it's utterly impossible for the item to arrive 3,000 miles away so fast! Too bad. Now get this, you "good" seller, the buyer just hosed you...FOR LIFE.

Yes, for most small and medium sellers, the mere opening of a dispute, regardless of circumstances, ends your eBay "career". Because in order to get the visibility you need on eBay, you MUST be a "Top Rated" seller. And to be Top Rated, you are only allowed one-quarter-of-one-percent (0.25%) of opened disputes. To put this into perspective, lets say you sell 400 items. If even ONE of the 400 experiences a delay that displeases the buyer, you're OUT!! Oh, you're a "big" seller, who sells thousands of items? Really? Do you sell thousands PER DAY? In fact, the big "contract" sellers DO sell thousands per day in many cases. Again, some perspective. What if you sell 1,000 items per month? That's already put you in the top rung, by far, compared to most sellers. BUT, the same quarter-percent still applies! You get TWO (and a half) nutty and/or impatient buyers, and that's IT. Oh, so you sell $100,000 per month? Tough shit. Out you go! It's actually worse than this. You could sell three items to ONE buyer, and combine his shipping, and off it goes in one package. But you're not "lucky" that month, what a shame, that one buyer just opened up a dispute, uh no, make that THREE disputes! No worries! Ebay has the solution for you! You can globally set your preferences so that a buyer can only buy one of your items at a time! Yes! That's it! When you have a buyer, maybe a repeat buyer, and he wants to honestly buy multiple items from you, tell him to take a hike! After all, it's the only way you can insulate yourself from having one "unlucky" incident turn into many! Dumbahoe, you can't be serious...

Donahoe needs to be stopped. The sociopath has proved he won't, and it may in fact be "personal" at this point. He knows the sellers hate him. He knows they are right, and now the only thing the worthless cocksucker can do is retaliate. He is literally in the process of burning the house down before he bails out! Stop him you negligent Board of Directors! Punish the asshole! You can SUE him! All you have to do is just document a tiny bit of his insanity, and you can fire him without even having to pay him off! Sue him! If he's smart, he'll know that the truth about his ineptness can't get out, or he will never earn that kind of undeserved money again. He'll be good, you'll see! FIRE him. And even if you do just pay him off, it will be far cheaper than letting him continue. Do it now, before eBay is history...

Occultists Run the Show, Whether We Like It Or Not...Plus, UFO Alert!

2010-04-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the most infamous recent events, 9/11, is so utterly riddled with occult indications, one would have to be blind not to see them. Look them up sometime. Things like the number “11” everywhere, or multiples thereof (110 stories tall). The buildings look like an “11” of course, the date, when they were constructed. On, and on. Oh sure, could all be a “coincidence”, right? And if we suggested that this means that it was done just this way, by intention, we would have to ask, “who” could possibly “engineer” such a fantastic series of apparent “coincidences”? And further, WHY was this done, especially considering the enormous loss of life involved?

Whoever they are, with the advent of 9/11, they have just “demonstrated” a level of power far beyond what is “normally” imaginable, at least to the common man in the street. No, they don’t care what you or I think, but amongst themselves, they clearly decipher the event as of their doing, and to their ultimate ends, since their clear fingerprints were intentionally left on it, albeit in a cryptic manner. This helps fuel their “faith” if you will, in what might be called The Plan. Not to mention, if 9/11 was perpetrated by diabolical occultists, they have now tipped their hand for us too, those few of us who can see. We should get the message, yes, they are prepared to callously KILL thousands. And if thousands could be justified, why not millions…or even BILLIONS?

By the way, we do have an upcoming festival that our occultist masters celebrate, it’s called Beltaine. No, not quite as much fun as they have at the Bohemian Grove at the end of July, but starting on April 30th, it is a two-day pagan festival going into the big Socialist holiday May 1st. Eleven days after Hitler’s birthday (nice). On the day of the founding of the Illuminati, May 1, 1776. And 66 days later, July 4th, 1776? That’s a “good” day, isn’t it? Numerology would take the seventh month, and add it to the fourth day, producing another insidious eleven. (By the way, don’t forget that the Sun operates on an eleven year cycle.) And what of the 1776? A pivotal year, for with the May 1st date, it also signifies “666” numerologically.

Strange stuff, and the religionist can have a field day with the three sixes from the Bible. But, this diabolical number does in fact seem to figure in somehow, whether you are a "believer", or not. Numerology is taken quite seriously, and since this infamous number does appear to occur by intention in various places, it is logical to conclude that those in power have assigned it importance.

SO, the folks that run the show are "occultists". There are some who don’t even know what an “occultist” is, and probably don’t care either, but the real point here is that they are "BAD". They're bad to the bone. Occultists perpetrated 9/11, and they are in charge of the USA. If they are in charge of the USA, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that somehow they are in power, worldwide too, for all practical purposes.

If someone, perhaps some group of people, has this kind of far-reaching power today, then much of what we hold dear is an illusion. Did you vote for president? Under this "conspiratorial" world-view, your vote doesn't matter. Another way to put it is that Clinton, and Bush, and Obama...they were selected, and their policies are those of the ones who put them in office.

If this "hidden hand" (as Benjamin Disraeli put it), if it is benign, or if our rulers are benevolent (even though hidden), then perhaps no one should care. But there is a very good reason the powers that be remain hidden. They are not benign, They are not what the regular common person would consider "good". In fact, they are very, very EVIL, as evidenced by their known actions, such as 9/11.

Would our masters kill "billions" of people, if it suited their Plan? Of course they would, they have already killed many millions! In fact, they are planning that very thing even NOW. We go about our business, we eat, we work, we sleep. And they patiently work The Plan.

What are some of the indications we have of "how" they will accomplish their stated goals? (Yes, they are stated, even written in stone...at least 6 billion people must die for their plan to be realized). One big part of their Plan that has been in the works for many years has to do with...UFOs!

Everyone agrees that if there was a "threat" from Out There, the planet would gladly "unify", to fight the common foe. A big theme in a lot of science fiction. But if such a thing happened (or seemed to happen), as an "invasion", and in the end there was a unified, One World government, wouldn't that probably be a good ending? Well, for the 6 billion casualties, define "good"!? This idea is not new, it is one that has had much time and resources invested in it, and recent news items also point in this direction as well.

Did you know that one of the moons of Mars was recently found to be HOLLOW? Soundings were done indicating that inside are many "rooms", large spaces, angular walls, etc. The outside of this moon also looks "artificial", now that close-up photos are being released. Could it be? The name of this moon is Phobos, Greek for "Fear"... (And if you want the sequel, the other moon is called Deimos (Terror!). Obama recently signed an accord with the Russians, and then immediately after went to Florida to discuss the future of NASA. Things may be moving right along for what has been called "disclosure". What this means is that an official announcement could be made that says, "We are not alone...".

But the operative word is FEAR. Our masters are going to make some serious hay out of this. A couple of days ago, another announcement from that most famous quadriplegic physicist, Dr. Hawking. He suddenly tells us that there are almost certainly aliens, but get this, that he does not think it's wise to contact them! Why? He puts it rather ominously. "When the white man came to America, it wasn't so good for the Indians..."

The amount of power our masters have is mind-boggling. If the time is "right" for this UFO affair, then it's going to make 9/11 utterly forgettable. Already, most of the world's population has bought in to the 2012 "Doomsday" story. Add to this the introduction of "aliens", who kill people by the millions?

Phobos was "chosen" it seems for a very good reason...

How Was Your 420? Drugs And Another 2012 Conspiracy!

2010-04-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

These days most people seem to know what "420" means. Maybe some of the older folks out there still don't, but keep reading, we'll get you up to speed. "420" is drug culture code, and it doesn't mean just one thing, but for now, let's just say it's "time" to smoke some weed. As in, 4:20 PM.

As for many subculture slang terms, trying to understand the connection between the term, and it's meaning, is not always easy. One of the popular stories that is told about how 420 came about went back to the early 1970's. A group of high school kids in San Rafael, California, called the "Waldoes", used to meet after school to smoke pot, under the statue of Louis Pasteur, and the convenient meeting time they had agreed upon was 4:20 in the afternoon. It doesn't take too much imagination to see how from there, the mere mention of "420" was enough for the group's communications to morph in various ways about their favorite activity. And today, you probably guessed, it's gone full-blown, and has become a national pot smoker's day.

So, who cares, other than pot smokers? Well, for one thing, if you took 420 and turned it into a DATE (April 20th), you might start to wonder if the story about the Waldoes was true, or just a nice cover for something more sinister. Anyone important born on this date by chance? How about Adolph Hitler? The prophet Mohammed? Surely a coincidence!

Here's another interesting coincidence. That statue of Louis Pasteur, father of microbiology, who gave us vaccinations...could he have something more to do with "420" as well? And if somehow there is intention behind these strange coincidences, what could it be? What kind of person, or people would come up with odd stuff like this, and why?

Of course, the minute you ask questions like these you have already entered the Twilight Zone. But, just for fun, let's see where it goes...

Mohammed. No, this isn't an attempt to bash a religion, but we should ask ourselves, what does he symbolize, and what "connection" might he have to Hitler, if any? Today, in the West, Islam is certainly seen by many as "at war", regardless of who perpetrated 9/11. Hitler was also at war with the world so-to-speak. But really, isn't it a stretch to insinuate connections between people born centuries apart, just because they happened to have shared a birthday? And yet, wouldn't it be just incredible if such a connection did exist?

Well, these two historical figures are connected by more than just their birthday. How about a birth YEAR? Now I'm going to bring in another number, to see if it somehow helps. 666. (You probably guessed!) Christians know this figure is mentioned in the last book of the Bible, and it's supposed to indicate who Antichrist is. Whether you are a believer, or not, one thing to understand is that we may be dealing with "believers" of some type. But more on that later.

Two "solutions" to the puzzle in the 13th Chapter of Revelation about the Number of the Beast have to do with "when" you begin counting. The first could be to use the ancient Olympiad count, which began in 776 BC, and goes by fours, with some adjustments in between, due to the lack of a year "zero", etc. The second solution involves the beginning of the Julian calendar in 45 BC. Each solution points to a person. In the first case, the "year" indicated comes to 1889 AD. In the second case, the year is 622 AD. Are you seeing it? Hitler was born in 1889 of course, easy one. And Mohammed? Well, 622 AD was not his birth year, but even more significantly, it is "Year One" of the Muslim calendar (for reasons you can look up if you choose). This brings us round to Hitler again. Could the year 1889 also be "Year One" of some kind?

Oh my goodness, and we began with 420. And what of Louis Pasteur? In 1862, on April 20th, Pasteur's lab assistant Bernard completed the first test that would lead to the process called "pasteurization". Oh stop now with these coincidences!

By now, I've surely lost most readers, but if you're still here, hang on a bit more. Let's take yet another approach to discovering what "420" might really be about. Ask any pot smoker you know, and they will tell you that these numbers have a "hold" on them. Why? Because the numbers are now wired into their brains as "time to smoke"! And everyday, actually twice a day, when the clock comes 'round to 4:20, they are hit with that old urge. Rather insidious, especially if you're trying to quit, isn't it? In fact, it almost sounds too good to be true for the pot "industry" if you will. To have a "program" embedded into your customers that works like clockwork! But quo bono, who benefits? The drug dealers certainly benefit, but "who" are "they".

"They" call themselves "The Company". In fact, they have done so for centuries. Ever hear of the East India Company? Yes, they were instrumental in turning many Chinese into opium dependent slaves, with plenty of profit going right back to the Crown. Today, the CIA also calls itself "The Company", and their main business? Drug trade. Worldwide, they run the best part of the show. Is your kid an addict? Just your tax dollars, hard at work!

Obviously, we've stumbled into a hornet's nest. And the big question still remains. Who's "calendar" began in 1889? If "their" calendar counted differently, say, by elevens for some reason (it's the Sun, look it up), where are we at today? Well, 9/11 was in 2001. Adding eleven to that brings us to 2012. "They" are the occultists who literally run the world. Whether you "believe" or not, the fact is they believe. They do things for their reasons. Why should we care? Because it's not just your drug-addicted kid who they tossed into the dust-bin. Millions of casualties, more mount by the day. And my goodness, 2012 is just around the corner!

Comments?

Ebay "Community Values"...

2010-04-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wandered around the eBay site, and stumbled upon their five Community Values? Here they are...

1. We believe people are basically good.
2. We believe everyone has something to contribute.
3. We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people.
4. We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual.
5. We encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated.

Golly, sure sounds nice! Obviously, some idealism here, which has it's place, but the eBay of today really sings a different tune. In fact, their tune today might have been used as continuous background noise for the sci-fi movie "1984", about that dystopian world of the future, where everything seems to be the opposite of the way it's supposed to be. The famous line from the book that was made into a movie was, "Freedom is Slavery". There is also a "Ministry of Truth", that pumps out the propaganda instead, etc.

So why another dark comparison when looking at eBay's oh-so-special, and super-nice-sounding Community Values? Well, because it's all pure, unadulterated horse-shit, that's why! Sure, it may serve in some way as propaganda, even fooling some of the more naive among us, but their "Values" so-called stand in such sharp contrast to the reality, they only serve to nauseate the thinking person. How so? Let's take a look in more detail, in case you haven't thought about these "Values" much before.

First one says people are basically good. OK, I realize this is a popular notion today, especially among the more candy-ass and privileged within this matrix, but for those of you who feel that people are basically good, consider stepping outside of your box (or your pod) for a moment. Where would we have come to believe such a wild notion? As we look back into history, a long list of evils, almost exclusively done by people, to other people, confront us. Ugly names like Stalin, Hitler and Mao stare us in the face. Tales of millions perishing at the hands of dictators, or because of war, or greed, etc. No doubt if we wait long enough, our history books will be rewritten, but for today, perhaps we should consider the very real possibility that people are NOT basically good. Seems like a no-brainer really.

But are we saying that people are basically evil instead? Well, this would be a predictable conclusion, since we started off with the notion of "goodness" after all. But we need to take a step back before trying to simplistically label people one way or the other. Let's see what we can agree upon. People most often appear to act in their best interests, at least short-term. Yes, it's true there are smokers, and drinkers, etc., and they seem to take regular actions that could eventually cut their lives short, but that's another matter. Most people would probably agree that people tend to act according to what they believe is in their interests. Anything inherently "evil" about that? Maybe, maybe not. Looking back again at history, we do find a traditional explanation for the darker side of human nature known as The Fall. Religionists will be quick to recognize the term, but for the rest, there is a very old idea, passed down through the generations of humankind, that Man was originally created "good", but soon went wrong by making a bad choice, and now is not as he was. Tradition tells us about a Garden, the original pair (Adam and Eve), and a snake or serpent as well. That's the Fall, with the result being that people "should be" better, but today are not, and may actually have a "tendency" to do "bad" things, or at least selfish things. There's more to it, but that's the gist, and does appeal to an intuition that we may have as we evaluate our own behaviors. No, people are NOT "good", and while not automatically "evil", we would be fools to ignore the fact that people do bad things, sometimes very bad things!

And so, Community Value number one, put it in the toilet where it belongs. Let's replace it with something more real, and more useful. People are, what they have ever been. Not necessarily good, nor bad, but given the right circumstances, things can go wrong in a hurry. In applying this to the marketplace, let us recall the ancient Roman dictum, "caveat emptor", let the buyer beware. Yes, that's the way it was, is, and will be, no matter how big a company, or a government gets, that's supposed to "protect" you, and no matter how many centuries go by. Same goes with other situations. Ladies and gentlemen, wake up, when you need that cop, he will not be there. You're going to either be prepared to defend yourself, as best you can, or you will suffer the consequences. And later, don't expect to feel so great when some moron recites some silly shit about "good" people, along with a sorry-ass little smile to go with it. Yeah, tell that to the girl who got raped. Good? Give me a break.

Back to the marketplace. When you buy that medicine for your child, have you done your homework first? Did you merely trust your doctor? Shame on you! You get to join the ranks of the thousands of people who did the same, who felt they had little or no responsibility. And even if your child escaped this time, what about the next? Same goes with anything you buy. Take responsibility! And when you think about what actually goes on in every normal business transaction, you will know that you can't just relax, and hope Big Brother will take care of you. Because your job as the buyer is to get what you want for as little as you can get away with. And the guy you're buying from has the opposite job, he wants to get the absolute most money out of you, and give you the least he can get away with. In between these poles, a deal can be struck. But as in the days of old, when no one was yet so foolish as they are today, you do not let your guard down! And shame on eBay for pandering to the stupid idea of "good" people, which can only set sellers up for more insanity, with unrealistic buyer expectations, based on propaganda.

On to number two. Everyone has something to contribute. So? So fucking what! The better thing to ask here of eBay: Are you letting people make their contributions? Or are you meddling to the point where many just turn away in disgust? Yes, many people have lots to contribute, and I personally don't care about "everyone" (?), that's irrelevant. But the issue here is to go beyond mere recognition that people have something to contribute. Let them DO it too, for crying out loud! The eBay of today isn't letting that happen, but more on that below.

Number three. How about the idea that an honest and open environment can bring out the best in people? Sounds rather nice (again). Sheesh, wake up dummies! This kind of statement smacks of propaganda on it's face! First of all, anyone who actually deals with eBay knows that they are far, far from promoting an honest and open environment. Instead, they willingly promote fraud on their site, through the use of "hidden" identities, facilitating shill-bidding, etc. It takes considerable chutzpah for such a criminal outfit to try and wrap themselves in this moral flag. Second, how is an "honest and open" environment even conceivable? Yes, there is a legitimate notion of "transparency" out there, (look it up eBay!), but the minute we appeal to moralistic terms, such as "honest", we step into the propaganda game. Fuck that. Third, assuming we could have such a wondrous environment, would it really bring out the "best" in people? Exactly how would that work?

You want to know what brings out the "best" in everyone? CONSEQUENCES. This is literally a foreign word over at eBay, but admit it, there is nothing else quite like good, old-fashioned consequences to truly "bring out the best" in people. You don't want your employee to steal from you? Set up a camera! You'd like to make sure you don't get raped up the ass? DO NOT drop the fucking soap to begin with! It's common sense really.

But eBay doesn't do "consequences" anymore, at least not for one HALF of the transaction, since the buyers have been given carte blanche, and sellers must just "hope" they're "good" people! Hopeless more like. Get real eBay! You stupid asshole John Donahoe, you are a criminal, and are building up a shitload of bad karma. One day (soon I hope), I would love to read some news about how some (basically) "good" person car-jacked the fuck out of you, and left your sorry worthless ass for dead. Wake up you mega-prick!

Number four. This one is sweet, which almost rhymes with "unique". But the unique part is only dumb because is so obvious. Yes, we're all fucking unique! Who cares?! The problem is that they say they "respect" everyone. No, that is a lie. They have seriously disrespected their sellers, most especially their small and medium sized, shall we say even, the most unique of their sellers? You want to know what real disrespect is my friends? No, it's not just sneaking off in the morning. How about this one? How about you have your fun with the little lady, and then you KILL her? My, my, now THAT is some serious disrespect! But that is exactly what eBay is doing to their sellers! Slowly killing them off, after having taken their time, their money, in some cases, maybe even their lives, as discouragement leads to despair. Yes, real, unique lives are being broken. Through the callousness of the greedy-fuck Dickahoe and company. The true collective uniqueness is being killed off, so that one day, in the words of that Stallone movie, as enunciated by Sandra Bullock, "All restaurants are Taco Bell!" Thanks Dickahoe!

Number five. Oh how we could all wish Dumb Ass Donahoe really believed such a thing! To treat others, as we would like to be treated? What a concept. But we would be beating a now, very-dead horse to go on too much.

When we all get to Heaven, or Nirvana, or WhereEver, we shall oh-so gladly treat each other as we want to be treated! We might even treat one another with kindness, and respect! Joy would be EveryWhere, and we would finally be Happy! And then we woke up. Sorry folks, this silly utopianism isn't reality. As individuals, we can each make a personal choice to perhaps follow such a noble dictum as the Golden Rule. But as a group, or a "community" (sounds so nice!), it ain't gonna happen.

Let's get real, and replace number five with: "We believe both buyer, and seller were created Equal..." You can make up the rest, but until this basic notion is restored, forget these stupid "community values", and don't expect eBay to be a healthy marketplace.

Comments?

Yes, There Really Is A God Virginia!

2010-04-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Yes Virginia, there really is a god! Don't listen to those small-minded people who say otherwise, because they are wrong. We live in a skeptical age, and many refuse to believe in that which they can not touch, or see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible to their little minds. And all our minds are little Virginia, as measured by an intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes Virginia, there is a god. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give your life it's highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would the world be without god! Why, it would be as dreary as a world without Virginias! It would be a world without child-like faith, without romance or poetry, to make this existence tolerable. And if there were no enjoyment (except in that of sight and sense), then the eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in god? You might as well not believe in Santa Claus! And even if your father was able to hire a million men to watch every chimney on Christmas Eve, to catch Santa as he came down, and they failed, just what would that prove anyway? Of course nobody sees Santa, but that's no reason to think there is no Santa! Perhaps the most real things in the world are those that can not be seen. And it isn't hard to imagine that there are many wonderful things we can't conceive of, that are no less real than the many we can see.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle to see what makes the noise, but perhaps there is a veil covering the unseen things of this world that no one can tear apart. Only faith, poetry, romance and love are strong enough to push back the veil enough to see what may lay beyond. And what can be seen then, in all it's glory, is it not just as certain, just as real as anything else? Ah Virginia, in all the world, there is nothing else as real or abiding as this unchanging glory, not fit for eyes that are in fact completely blind anyway.

No god?? Insanity! A million years from now he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

BUT NOW Virginia, if I were to tell you that there really was no "god", or Santa Claus for that matter, how would it make you feel? For everything I said above, while true, may only be true only for the child. As St. Paul once said, long ago, "When I was a child, I thought as a child..." But he went on to say that now that he was a man, he had to put aside the silly things of childhood. But is Santa really so silly after all? On Christmas morn, the presents really are all 'round the tree! As the gifts are opened, is there not real joy on the faces of every child? And should that joy diminish, when one has finally been told the simple truth, that "Santa" is really Mommy and Daddy after all? Is it no less wondrous that their love for you, their selfless generosity, has given to you such a splendid morning? Could it perhaps be even more beautiful than imagining the fat old man in the red suit?

And so it may be for what men have called "gods", or God, over these many thousands of years. Could this great "man", with the long white beard, who we have always been told exists...could he too be something like Santa Claus? Surely, there must be something to believe in far more noble, and ennobling, than the monster of the Old Testament? Indeed, if I needed to find someone more moral than the "god" I was brought up to believe in, then I could quite easily substitute my very human mother for him! And why not? After all, was she not "Santa Claus" as well? No, she was not all powerful, nor was she all-knowing, but what power she had, was expended for those she loved. What knowledge she had, she tried to use for the good of all she loved. And somehow, it was good enough, as small as it might have been, in comparison to that infinite "God" of common faith and religion.

Maybe the god of Christianity is "too big". Maybe we need to look back a bit, to simpler times, and see the wisdom of the primitive peoples, who brought god down to something more real in their lives, even if it was but an animal. Maybe we need the wisdom of the children, who can honestly tell the whole world that their Papa is the strongest, and their Mama is the best. Truly, if GOD is ever to be the greatest, the most worthy of human worship, he has to be better than us. And while the god of the Old Testament is certainly not even as good as the most immoral of all men (and therefore not worthy of worship), still, there "must" be something, perhaps even "Someone" who can give meaning to the greatest things we know. Love. Selflessness and devotion. Beauty. Oh Greatest Someone...Wherefore art Thou??

eBay DSR's: Dumb, Stupid and Ridiculous!!

2010-04-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

For those who sell on eBay, a sequel to the unfolding feedback nightmare was served up in 2009 that was supposed to enhance the feedback system. Detailed Seller Ratings ("DSR's") were introduced on the heels of the hugely idiotic change in feedback policy that prohibited sellers from leaving meaningful feedback for buyers. While on it's face, it couldn't be seen as anything but a titanically unwise move, some excuses were provided, and sellers continued on. But after something so utterly ridiculous, how could anyone imagine anything worse?

Apparently, eBay's feedback guru, Brian Burke, was already busy, not just (mis)using his imagination, but engineering the silly DSR's for his boss. But while Burke is mostly blamed for this nonsense, let's face it, he is NOT one of the Big Four (who fancy themselves the "Fantastic Four"!), but is further down the ladder. Obviously, he is far enough down to be a major ass-kisser, so when CEO Donahoe gave the order to come up with something to make eBay more like Amazon, such as a "Five Star" ratings system, Burke got to work, and handed his boss what he wanted. Sure, Donahoe is completely insane, and everyone knows it, but did that stop all his sniveling underlings from licking his boots? No doubt, Burke had to have suspected that things couldn't possibly be screwed with, so massively, without literally risking eBay's future. But, when he thought about his raises, and bonuses, all long-term considerations obviously went out the window. And besides, what if the new changes really did work? Wouldn't he get big credit, and maybe one day be seen for the (evil) genius that he really wanted to be?

Well, Burke may have been between a rock and a hard place, and maybe we would have done the very same thing after all. He had to give his boss what he wanted. But there's always risk in following lunatics. Dickahoe is famous for taking all credit for all that goes well, while at the same time casually sacrificing some poor schmuck who gets selected for blame when things go wrong. And besides being such a total dick, the bastard has such incredible chutzpah, that his track record even includes blaming old Meg Whitman, who gave him his big chance to fuck the universe in the first place. Yes, he does bite the foolish hands that feed him. Listen up Board of Directors: Stop feeding the maniac! Duh!

So, back to the DSR's. How Dumb and Stupid are they? On the surface, they sort of seem rather tame. The buyer gets to "rate" the seller on some important transaction issues (such as communication, shipping charges, etc.), basically taking his purchasing experience, and putting it into "numbers" for all to see. Further, the buyer gets to do this "anonymously" (sort of), which is theoretically supposed to ensure that an "honest" set of detailed ratings will be left. In addition, maybe it's nice that if something "small" goes wrong, the buyer has the chance to mention it, without feeling the need to leave a negative feedback. And it all happens with a simple to use, visual "Five Star" system, that any second-grader can figure out. It's all good, right?

Well, before answering, let us see how eBay actually uses this system. Since the DSR's come down to a number ultimately, composed of the buyer's ratings, this number can theoretically be used to help determine who the "bad" sellers are, at least based upon the buyer's opinions (which should be the only thing that matter, right?). Ebay actually takes this info and uses it to severely penalize the sellers that fall beneath some average, which is in fact a "moving average", based on comparisons to all sellers, somewhat like grading on the curve. It almost seems "fair", doesn't it? And if you read what some of the business school academics are saying, it seems as if they are mostly convinced too, how wonderful this ingenious system is. Even it's obvious Achilles Heel (purely subjective opinions drive it) doesn't matter as much, because the system is virtually self-adjusting, as it compares all the sellers, making for a "standard of seller excellence" (if you will), that can theoretically never be too far off. My goodness, Burke has done it! He has managed to put together the ideal system! Or has he?

So why do so many sellers hate DSR's? It must just be the "bad sellers", whining out of all proportion, as you would expect them to do, right? And you can also read about many happy "eBay cheerleaders", who constantly post their bull-shit on the eBay Discussion Boards, with their nauseating mantra, "Adapt!" Hopefully, no one is so gullible that they actually believe such idiocy. And no, you can't really get a feel for true seller dissatisfaction by reading the dumb-ass discussion boards. Sellers are very cautious these days, knowing that the eBay "thought police" are out there, and can arbitrarily shut them down, if they appear to be causing too much trouble. Some may recall that not too long ago, eBay actually had blogs, but they were outlawed, because too many rebels seemed to be congregating there, and that just won't do! If you are a naive seller, be careful, don't get too crazy, stay as PC as you can, and maybe The Man (affectionately known as "Massa" by sellers) will let you sell another day!

OK then, so what is the deal with DSR's? How bad can they be? First, let's not forget what started the whole thing off (besides the chief-maniac that is). Ebay thought it might be nice to destroy the existing feedback system by making sure only "positive" feedback could be left for buyers. Stop and really think about the implications of that, other than nullifying the entire system. A buyer now has no responsibility? Seriously? The buyer pays, and in the official words of eBay, they have therefore "fulfilled their obligation to the eBay community, and can deserve only positive feedback". Really? By simply making a payment, that's it? Surely, no one can be so foolish as to imagine it can be so simple?

In fact, in all our business dealings with people, we presuppose some level of trust, or basic goodwill at least, or else we wouldn't want to deal with the person. This is basic, and it's what the original online reputation system addressed quite nicely, for years. Ebay's feedback system was in fact the world's most studied online reputation system, ever. So, another way to put it, eBay effectively destroyed this ESSENTIAL two-way trust, when they abandoned buyer responsibility. Sure, the "system", such as it is, hobbles along nonetheless, but it does so in spite of the changes, and has been dealt a powerful blow. As it stands now, the seller has been left utterly defenseless against buyers who can masquerade as literally "perfect" (remember, since no negative feedback is allowed, everyone "looks" great!), when in fact they are liars and extortionists, who have incidentally also been given the enormous power to shut down any (small/medium) seller that does not want to cooperate with their schemes.

Before writing this off as some too-tiny percentage of buyers, realize that the size of the fraudulent buyer population is not the biggest issue at all. The mere fact that such a tiny minority was handed such enormous power, THAT is the issue, and eBay committed this inexcusable crime! Now, the unscrupulous few, literally have the power to wreck MANY sellers, with the vast majority of those who are wrecked being small to medium size sellers. Why is this? Because the whole game automatically must revert to statistics. That's right. The severity of this issue is actually something that can be properly apprehended using (not misusing!) the discipline of statistics. More on this below, but if this is the case, then we must ask why eBay perpetrated such a terrible thing, since they must KNOW what the consequences are, and by now, they have solid data that indicates the future all too well.

The answer is simple. What is happening, is exactly what was intended. Enough of the "unintended consequences", folks, they fully intended to do what they have done, but continue to lie about it. Everyone agrees that they want to change the "image" eBay has. No longer will it be the online "flea market". It will be a "mall". New items, up-scale items, BIG sellers only, who eBay doesn't have to worry about. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Well, so does Gorbachev's vision of an Earth with only a billion people, who can all live large, and enjoy the limited planetary resources, with a quality of life fit for kings! Except for the part about how 6 billion people have to die, to realize their Utopian dream. And so it is with eBay. Yes, they can become whatever they want! But most of their small and medium size sellers will have to go!

Back to statistics. For a smaller seller, even a "medium" seller, the number of transactions that you need to do becomes quite large, in order to effectively cancel out the magnified power given to the tiny few unethical buyers. But it's worse than that. That "population" of bad buyers actually is UNDERSTATED, because you need to add the LEGION of utterly STUPID buyers to the few bad ones. You know, the buyers that don't feel they need to read the listing. The ones who looked at the picture only, and thought they were getting something else. The ones who went looking for an apple, but found your orange, and got very pissed when the orange showed up. They also went ballistic when they discovered you actually charged for shipping! No, this is hardly an exaggeration! Real sellers, in the trenches, deal with this nonsense day in, and day out. But they won't for long. Because eBay is using the STATISTICAL CERTAINTY of condemning smaller and medium sellers, as the reason to drum them right out the door. Which, if you recall the above, is what they wanted all along.

You see, Wal-Mart, and Costco, and Sears, etc., they have been dealing with "bad buyers", dumb buyers, buyer's remorse, fraudsters, thieves, etc., for decades or more! But they are big, and they can simply "factor it in", and charge you more. And for those who are now thinking, "Well then, factor this into your business model! Adapt!" First of all, SHUT UP, dumb-ass! Second, tell this crap to the mom-and-pop outfit who used to make a decent living, providing excellent service, honest value, etc., who was unfortunate enough to have a Wal-Mart move in across the street. Sure, just "adapt"! Sure, just raise your prices! And when no one buys your stuff, then what? Shut your doors, you're done. And your customers? Send them to fucking Wal-Mart, where else can they go?!

And that IS a problem. Not just for the mom-and-pop, but for everyone. The issue is huge, too big for this piece here, but look into it. The Wal-Martization of America is one of the reasons we have lost our way. We can complain, but if we buy at Wal-Mart, then it's our fault too. If we buy cheap Chinese goods, it's our fault too. What's our fault? Jobs lost. A declining standard of living. An increasingly dim future for our children, etc. No, this is not easy to sort out, but don't push it aside as irrelevant, it is very important, and may end up being a life and death matter, before it's done playing out.

Back to feedback, and DSR's. The feedback system was disabled by the criminal "no neg" policy. This stupidity would already place sellers at considerable risk that was not present in the system before the change. Added risk means an automatic reappraisal of business strategy. Certainly, some sellers would not survive such a change. And then, the DSR's. Final nails in the coffin of the loathsome small/medium seller. Because when you relegate the survival of your business to mere chance, it isn't prudent to continue on anymore, even "if" you happen to be lucky for a while. It's not just a sea-change in the risk level, it's a completely unreasonable burden to place upon the seller who is not friggin' Wal-Mart! It's hugely significant, and catastrophic for everything that made eBay great. The writing is on the wall, you negligent Board of Directors. You should all be sued by the shareholders who are getting hosed so badly. No need to worry about the little sellers though. They are surely your victims, but alas, they are too poor these days to pay any legal bills!

No, we haven't even talked about how eBay really misuses the DSR's yet. And since they can be used to put sellers out of business, we best look at them very carefully, especially with eBay's not-quite-stated goal of eradicating all but the biggest sellers. Here's the way it works. A very minuscule number of 1 or 2 stars left for a seller, kicks them out of the "Top Rated Seller" program, and worse, if they can't muster enough "5's", they're in trouble too. It does no good to argue that the difference between a 4 (satisfied) and a 5 (very satisfied) is moronic. When I eat a good meal, I'm satisfied. Maybe I'm given to hyperbole, so I tell my wife I'm "very" satisfied? Fine, but this is eBay we're talking about! They just can't be serious, but they are, because your average rating must exceed "4", or else! Failure to achieve this ridiculously subjective level of "very satisfaction" results in "hiding" that seller's items for sale, since eBay will promote the other sellers above them. Since they aren't seen, they don't sell. Since they don't sell, they're out of business! Of course, none of this affects larger sellers, because their stats are big enough to absorb erroneous, rogue and bogus ratings. And no, the seller pushed aside doesn't even have to be a "bad seller" at all! In fact, a buyer can inadvertently leave a "one" or "two", and the severe consequences to the poor (smaller) seller are still the same! Worse, this empowers the "competition" to intentionally torpedo the small seller, who consistently offered product at better prices, since the smaller seller is now a very, very "easy target". It gets worse! Unless the targeted formerly "good" seller begins selling a LOT of items, the chances of getting past the unintended and fully intended DSR "ones" (easily from the competition), makes it harder and harder to achieve the status necessary to receive search visibility. And yes, it gets worse! The victimized seller, now facing a bleak future, may feel the need to "fight back", trying to damage his competition as well. Worse. Now, when a fraudulent buyer demands to be payed off, the poor seller has an incentive to just do it. They hate the whole game, but what can they do? And it gets worse. The good buyers now have fewer options, and must pay higher prices. They have no idea that eBay has created such an unhealthy business environment to begin with, but they lament the loss of some favorite seller or two, wonder why prices have gone up so much, and are now afraid to leave "honest" feedback, because sellers will block them from ever bidding again on their items if they dare say what went wrong You see, this is the only power left for the emasculated seller, so they do it more than ever before, and the buyer is left bewildered. How has this happened? And worse. The entire unnatural atmosphere begins to breed previously unanticipated temptations. Sellers who used to makes thousands each month on a few dozen sales, must now make hundreds of sales, not just to fight the statistical battle, but because eBay has mandated such a requirement, in order for them to have a small chance at qualifying for the coveted Top Seller status. They begin selling small-dollar, silly items, just to get their number of transactions up. They begin thinking up other "busy-work" schemes, that aren't merely unproductive, perhaps they really do encourage fraud? Now, in desperation, formerly sterling sellers resort to shill bidding, when necessary. Their desperation has caused them to say just about anything to get a sale! They no longer can focus on bringing a great experience to their customers, because eBay has literally placed them on a treadmill! And on and on it goes.

This is what happens when human nature is regarded so little by those in charge. People are what they have ever been. People are rarely noble creatures, and under the right (wrong) circumstances, can descend even lower than animals in their moral depravity. It is essential that rulers, leaders, have a wise understanding of what people are, and what they are not. Otherwise, unintended consequences will surely follow.

Now, worst of all. Please remember, all this mayhem and horror on eBay is quite likely NOT unintended at all! It sounds almost too preposterous, but no, they have their "dark purposes". And I would further submit, that even the idea that Dumbahoe and company are just trying to remodel the company into a better Amazon, that they are just naive, unwise, stupid, etc. No, that is too simplistic of an explanation, and it falls way short. Could be there is a bigger picture here. Remember, for years eBay served as a place the entrepreneur could go to bootstrap to a better life. It was the place the abandoned single mother could go, and still make good for her children. The provider who was suddenly "downsized" out of a job, they could still make ends meet while looking for the next job. And now, in the middle of the worst economy EVER, this last bastion of hope for survival is conveniently GONE?? Just an interesting coincidence?

I would enjoy your comments...

What "They" Want: To Control Everything, Including You!

2010-04-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

You can always tell when someone is a conspiracy nut, because they love to use the term "they" when identifying whoever is responsible for the various bad things "they" are up to. Ask them who "they" are, and you won't always even get much of an answer, but to be fair, most do have some vague notion of who "they" are, and if they're conspiracy nuts, they'll be happy to let you know.

Could be they're convinced it's the new (or former) president, the one they didn't vote for, and the stupid/terrible people behind him. Or maybe it's just the government. Don't ask "which one", because it's a dumb question! Surely you KNOW they're not talking about the government of Alaska! Maybe they've been around the pike a few times, and have come to believe in shadowy forces BEHIND the government. You know, the Masons. Or the Jews. Or the super-wealthy. Or maybe even the British Royal Family!

And why stop there! If you're really "in the know", you're going to have to eventually lay the woes of the world at the doorstep of the Vatican. Yes, now there's an obvious choice. But we can't stop there, can we? Because if you're one of the very few, perhaps you've been let in on the Big Secret, that it's actually the Black Pope (not that German guy dressed in White, he's just window dressing!). Of course! It all makes sense now! Black people just pretend to be oppressed, when in fact they're secretly in charge! Oh how simple it all is, when you are in-the-know. Is it any surprise Obama is now called Mr. President? Duh!

But we're not done yet, because that guy in charge of all those Chester-the-Molester priests (called the "Jesuits"), well it's HE who must be the one who's really pulling all the strings! Oh yes, and haven't you heard? The "Black Pope" is really an old white dude, who takes his orders direct from Satan himself!!

Hey, and we haven't even mentioned 9/11 yet. But come on now, can so many people be wrong? One or more of the above conspiracy theories would have to be at least "partly" true, wouldn't you think? OK, so let's go with it a little, and see where it takes us.

How about the idea that "the Jews" are really behind it all. It's not just a popular idea, it's a rather traditional one too, been around for a while. On the one hand, you might actually know a Jew, or be one yourself, and right there decide it's not going to work for you. But on the other hand, it does seem like Jews run Hollywood, right? And aren't there a whole lot of 'em in top government spots too? And a ton of them are filthy rich! Plus, how else could Israel have ever come to be, unless they had a whole heck-of-a-lot of power? You know, we might have something here...

Or what about the Catholic Church. They've been around quite a while, seems like they might be a good choice. And come to think of it, weren't they always pushing around the Jews? You know, if they weren't burning their books, or worse, burning their children, right?, they were obviously behind getting them kicked out of country after country, right? So, in this case, it seems possible that "catholic" trumps "jew". Sheesh, it's not that hard, it's just logic my friends!

But wait! A howl of protest has erupted from the Catholics, who know their history better than that. No one ever burned children for crying out loud! And speaking of getting kicked around, wasn't it to Rome that many Jews went, to get satisfaction from the Pope, who felt so sorry for them that they were even given their own ghetto, complete with papal protection? And pahleeze do not forget Pope Pius XII (the pope in WW2), who actually HID Jews within the Vatican! And shall we forget John Paul II? Heck, lots of people said he had a Jewish grandmother!

OK, OK. Fine. Maybe no one is "guilty" for the mess we might just as well call, "The Way It Is". After all, why not have a "nice" conspiracy theory that doesn't pick on anyone, or at any rate, takes the blame to the very tip-top, and lays it on the desk where Bucks Do Not Pass? Maybe we can all just agree that God, or Whoever is ultimately in charge, just set the whole lousy game up this way, for his own good reasons. "It's just the way it is."

OR, what if "they" would just love it if you chose any one of the above!? Finally, we might be approaching the "truth" of the matter! No, let us not too hastily reject the notion of conspiracies, they're a FACT of life, even if you haven't figured out which one is best just yet. How could there not be conspiracies, when in every family there might be quite a few? Oh come on now, haven't you thought about it that way before? "Don't worry honey, we won't tell Mom (Dad) about it. It will be our little secret!" "Yes dear, Uncle Chucky shouldn't have done that, but do NOT worry your father with any of this! Uncle Chucky won't do it again, I promise. Now, let's go get that ice cream cone!" "Daddy's girl, right? Don't tell Mommy, she might get jealous!"

No, you're not a "nut" if you suspect that such very human behavior, is entirely scalable. 9/11, JFK, Pearl Harbor...We might hear them laughing in the private chambers, "Just let enough time go by..."

Objection! "You simply cannot hide anything as large as 9/11. I refuse to believe that our great nation had anything to do with this crime. Why is it so hard to believe that Arabs (who hate our freedoms!) would do this?!"

No, this is not a piece about 9/11. Carry on, believe what thou wilt. But the point should be clear that conspiracies first of all are as real as can be. And second, they can be far bigger than merely hiding the family molester from common knowledge. Of course, allowing molestation to go on for generations is hardly small, but that's another story. Real conspiracies, large and small, are part of the human experience. By the way, if you find yourself still in the knee-jerk mode, rejecting this notion, then it's time to quit reading. Stop, go back to your television for further instructions, and try to forget you ever considered anything that might be unpatriotic, or politically incorrect. In fact, shame on you for still reading this!

As for the rest of us, it might be important to take a small step back at this point, and consider the enormous hostility, the fear perhaps, or the lack of seriousness, and even our own "knee-jerk" response when confronted with this pesky word "conspiracy". Can we acknowledge that we may actually suffer some level of "programming" here, societal or otherwise? If so, from whence could it have originated? Considering that conspiracies are logically the norm, that indeed they must exist, that they are in fact the most likely explanation for many things around us, then shouldn't we wonder why we have seemingly developed a blind-eye to this sort of thing? How did such a thing happen? Has it always been this way?

To answer that, just head back up to the beginning of this piece. Let's have our fun. Let's snicker at the silly conspiracy theorist! That's mostly how, and it seems to work, especially if the media cooperates (for whatever reasons). The better question is "Why?" Here we're dealing with something ingrained now in our culture. Considerable effort must have gone into establishing this generalized attitude, today accepted by the majority. And certainly Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, they were not shy about the nefarious forces afoot even in their day, and wrote about them, so at least back then, things weren't quite as they are now in this department. Yes, it is likely decades in the making, but perhaps even centuries...

First of all, stop your knee from jerking. Centuries? Folks, this business is serious, might I even say, "dead" serious, especially after so many years of mounting human casualties. But centuries? In fact it has now been FIVE centuries since Machiavelli penned his famous work The Prince. In his masterpiece of worldly advice (as given to The Prince of the title), the person who seriously seeks greater power need only follow the book's diabolical prescriptions to achieve their greatest ambitions. Without spelling it all out, the book recommends the use of extreme dissimulation to achieve it's ends, and yet it also insists on keeping the subjects happy with the notion that they enjoy a benign ruler. Of course, their ruler is hardly benign in reality. In fact, he best operates without true mercy (only pretended is allowable), in secret, and amongst carefully prepared lies for public consumption, that all help him to achieve his goals.

Does this still sound a bit too crazy? Well, look it up, it's actually considered Political Science. In fact, we would be foolish to imagine that at this late date, such a "craft" is not only alive and well, but it should in fact be the rule, and this of itself, explains a whole lot. We do live within a "matrix" if you will, and it has been carefully prepared by those who have a plan (for us). No, you shall not be privileged enough to get a peek at the various plays in their play book. No, you can't even really know who "they" are! Or can you? Perhaps we'll take that up the next time.

The Rape of the eBay Seller: Human Nature Violated

2010-04-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, the Land of eBay was a great nation, a free country, whose citizens enjoyed the benefits of very little government (the best kind). But things changed. Greedy corporate wolves, ever anxious to devour what ever they can, eventually found themselves in charge. They began to gorge on their nation, handing themselves fat salaries, monstrous bonuses, and rollicking in power far beyond their wildest dreams. Certainly, these greedy beasts were ill-equipped to to manage a great nation, let alone guide it into the future. As a result, the once great eBay, was reduced to a very sad state of affairs.

Today, the Beast at the Top (aka John Donahoe), continues to feast upon the soon-to-be carcass. Ebay languishes, alive, but just barely, by any noble standards. It is said that Donahoe's inhuman and brutal treatment of his customers (the Sellers) is only a dim foreshadowing of what the Beast plans for the Simpleton Stockholder. Certainly, his belly may be full, but other ignoble ideas begin to cross his twisted and depraved mind as he observes his Simpleton Shareholders bending over to pick up the proverbial soap.

At this juncture, there's no use asking "if" he's about to screw the Shareholder, historically, he's been doing it right along! But we can still ask "when". When will the Beast ram it all the way Home? Or perhaps more poignantly, will the bastard at least use some Vaseline as he tears them a new one?

SOME GOOD NEWS. A consensus seems to be developing that Dumbahoe has indeed been identified as the (obvious) problem (finally!). Of course, top-level corporate retention plans, and the high cost of paying these sociopaths off, does tend to slow down the process. His days are likely numbered, and a new CEO may be around the corner. Maybe Meg Whitman has told the son-0f-a-bitch that he can be Mr#2 if she's becomes the latest governator of the Socialist Republic of California. "John, you can do SO much more damage as my lap-dog! And it is SO You, too! Plus, since I'm camera-shy, maybe you can do most of the media stuff for me!" Well, in spite of the fact that John Dumbahoe was hand-picked by Meg to run eBay when she left, the piece-of-shit has spared no opportunity to blame any and all problems on HER. Yes, she was no saint, but compared to him, well, there is no comparison, except maybe to Bush Jr., who has earned his place in history as the worst president of the USSA, ever! So no, it may not be realistic to think he will migrate from the corrupt corporate world, into the even more corrupt political one. What may be more likely, he will worm his way over into PayPal, since shareholders there are over-due for a good horse-fucking. And what better guy to do the deed, than the sick poster-child for bestiality and beastliness, John Fucking Donawhore.

Apologies to the gentle reader for the remarks above, and no worries, no more of that will follow. Back to the title. Human Nature. This is the crux of many issues plaguing our society today. From the fascist Right, we have the never-ending appeals to Patriotism (so-called), the appeals to "decency" (what would they know about that?), and the call to the (ig)noble sacrifice of our sons and daughters, in whatever the latest war-for-profit scheme has been sold to the sheeple. From the Left, the never-ending PC drivel, the insulting labeling of everything that fails to conform (Racist! You didn't vote for Obama because...), the stupid calls to their oh-so-noble Global causes (Global Warning anyone? It's an inconvenient TRUTH, whether you like it or not!).

But the Right and the Left have a lot in common. Both enjoy taking advantage of the lower parts of human nature, and have little trouble exploiting the hapless sheeple, who crave mainly bread, and circuses after all. And certainly, neither of them care for the use of reason anymore, both being far too cynical for anything so out-dated anyway. Together, both the Left hand and the Right, are doing their best to herd the Sheeple along, apparently following what might be seen as a coordinated agenda. But where are the Sheeple being herded off to, or in to? What is at the end of the damnable rainbow?

George Orwell's 1984 continues to shed light on the subject. In the book, a nightmarishly distopian world of the future made life utterly miserable. While the people had food to eat, and roofs over their heads, the fact was that the food was hardly eatable, and life was largely unbearable, most especially for those who realized that their world was not how it was "supposed" to be. Perhaps they had even been born into that ugly world, and shouldn't have known anything different, but because human nature does not change, all efforts to exterminate any essential part of it will ultimately fail. And since freedom is so central to healthy human nature, no government, no matter how "all-powerful" it may become, can completely eradicate it. But, all this being said, this fact will not stop the Right and Left from pushing all into some future "utopia", and the reason for this insanity is, again, that same human nature.

Because those who acquire wealth, and power usually are never satisfied, a perpetual dynamic is set in motion that must eventually result in a kind of Law of the Jungle, that continually tends toward the preservation (at a minimum), and expansion of the wealth and power of the most ruthless. Their goal is actually quite simple: To control EVERYTHING.

Today, a small handful of families, with massive multi-generational wealth at their disposal, carry out continuous warfare, primarily against each other, with their ultimate goal of absolute control of all, serving as the impetus. But along the way, many alliances are made, and broken, as they each vie for eventual supremacy. And above and beyond this more or less naturalistic expose, of the forces shaping all our lives, are other explanations that look to a supernatural level, and might even assert there is literally a Devil at the very top, with his own evil agenda, as he manipulates his mostly oblivious minions.

So, that my friends may be cast as something of a Big Picture, with room still left for those given to supernatural scapegoats. As we examine the various things in our own lives, it seems that this should be left in the background, and not forgotten, since it may be exactly what helps us to better understand the many seemingly enigmatic experiences that batter our lives.

And for those of you still waiting for the eBay connection, well here it is finally. Ebay, like many large innovative enterprises that have in recent times emerged, occupies not just an interesting place in today's world, but it is also pregnant with it's own unique power. As such, the predatory forces-that-be, must not only recognize it, but they must also seek to harness it for their own purposes. Far fetched? eBay somehow on the radar of the richest and most powerful? Well, the first step is to realize that such a thing is not just possible, but at this stage, quite likely.

Why is this? Because eBay directly tapped into one of the greatest powers for good (and evil) that the world has ever known. And that power is that of, the entrepreneur. Such power, previously much more diffuse amongst the masses, now had a central place where the many small, even tiny seeds, could begin to grow. Some of these seeds might indeed become mighty oaks! But surely, even such "oaks" could pose no serious threat to the powerful elite, could they? Well, fear may play some part, but that may not be the main reason the elite took an interest in eBay. Perhaps it is something like this: Here was a place that they could gather information on real-world behavior, of people essentially like THEM! Yes, because another way to look at the wealthy and powerful, is to recognize them (or at least their progenitors), as highly successful "entrepreneurs." Sure, their ancestors probably didn't fool around trying to sell widgets to the masses, most of their august families probably had great-grand-fathers who were simply ruthless thugs, or drug pushing royals, or a bit further back, maybe crafty regicides, who only looked like bootlickers, but all along were excellent at misusing any trust foolishly placed in them. Ah yes, these are their forefathers! But now, to have a ready-made "laboratory" that they could play with, while at the same time suppressing a potentially troublesome group (all empowered peoples are troublesome!)? Certainly, this was something they must get their filthy hands into!

And so today, we have a New EBay, a New Amerika, even a whole New World Order! ALL of it is unfolding the way it is, because it makes the most sense for THEIR agenda. But more on that next time!

Comments anyone?

Ebay, World's Biggest Promoter of Fraud Continues to Do Nothing Real to Stop It

2010-03-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

EBay, the world's number one online auction venue, has also been called other things. At one point in their colorful history, some said that they were also the world's leader in trafficking non-electronic "physical" pornography, including child porn, snuff films and the like, third-world versions beyond description, and they even got credit at one time for helping many gay men meet other like-minded persons through their oh-so-gay-friendly site. Well, they may also be the all-time biggest promoter of fraud as well, but with a resume like theirs, what's the big deal?

BUT WAIT! Let's be fair to eBay, they are now (finally) trying to stamp out fraud, under the visionary leadership of CEO John Donahoe, so they appropriately have a new policy. No, you won't find mention of it on their site because it's one of a legion of "secret" policies that now go far beyond merely governing eBay. Due mainly to their CEO's legendary lack of wisdom, as well as his knack for over-micro-managing EVERYTHING, each long day in the eBay Empire brings a host of new and (naturally) unanticipated problems. As they attempt to violate every last vestige of common sense and human nature even, the frustration only increases on all fronts. Myriad details beyond anyone's comprehension now befuddle their mostly inept reps, as they atempt each day to navigate through a mine-field of insanity. This insanity comes right from the top, and manages to twist-up everyone all the way down.

In fact, all the way down to their SELLERS. No, this is not a joke, in fact, one couldn't make this up if they tried (Donahoe doesn't have to try, delusional thinking is completely natural to him). You see, the cumulative weight of what is now several years of continuous disregard for human nature, coupled with what seems to be an Ivory Tower, Utopian (Socialist) agenda, has created a Monster that constantly demands more attention. No longer a largely self-regulating "community", eBay has become a "State", and the state of affairs is truly appalling. Each day, the pathetic eBay employee drags him/herself to work to face yet more insanity. Micro-managed to the point where all that is left is something like a hostile robot. As for the demoralized employees whose job it is to interact with the loathsome Seller, their job is the hardest of all. They sit in between two diametrically opposed worlds. On one side is the famously entrepreneurial and fiercely independent full-time eBay Seller, and on the other, Satan himself! Of course, the poor robot obediently repeats his master's mantra, "Freedom is Slavery!" But somehow, the job must get done.

If you're still with me, here's Satan's (aka John Donahoe) latest marching orders. "Thou shalt saddle the loathsome Seller with yet another heavy fetter..." "But Master, these sellers already have such a heavy burden from all the other horrible stuff you've thrown at them!" "Silence, DOG! My agenda is far beyond your feeble ability to comprehend. The miserable Seller must now help shoulder the incredible burden of controlling fraud in our corrupt company!" "But Master, how can THEY do anything, since compared to us, they are mere ants, who deserve to be crushed?" "Apparently you haven't been paying attention! The media is on to us, they know we promote porno, prostitution, deviance, hatred AND fraud! We've blamed perverts, pushed aside the silly Nazi's, but ALWAYS we get mileage out of everyone! This time, it's fraud. The miserable Seller will step up to the plate, and soon, you will see, eBay shall have no liability! We will even begin to accumulate data on these worthless beasts! Before you know it, we will be completely prepared for the next scandal. The authorities will come to us, and we will hand them their Victim! The miserable Seller will not last long. Soon, they will all finally get the Message." "Ah Master, you are SO wise! But if I may be so bold...what will happen to eBay when we finally kill off all the Seller-Vermin?" "Good question, but I don't plan on being around when that happens. Perhaps you are ambitious, perhaps you would like a promotion? Just keep the faith my little fool, all will go as planned...So Mote It Be!"

Can this nightmare be true? Back to reality. In fact, Ebay really is asking a lot of the Seller. Here's what they're demanding of late, or else, face suspension. Sellers (unless they hail from China) will not list items that are too "cheap". Without getting into how ridiculous the notion of "cheap" is, let's look at eBay's rationale. They say (for example) that if a person sells an item for under a dollar, that Seller is PROMOTING fraud, because fraudsters always build feedback using "cheap" purchases, before launching as a seller, who will then promptly defraud the public. Imagine being a part of that! And that strong language might come back to get the poor seller who doesn't quite see what may be really going on, as insane as it is. eBay further classifies this monstrous crime as "feedback manipulation/abuse" (since even a legit seller's own feedback can become skewed with "non-representative" transactions), and on and on it goes.

So, you could theoretically sell an item for 99 cents, and immediately be guilty of two crimes. Of course, they threaten suspension, and they might well love to have good records of the many poor sellers they shut down, in case anything happens. And it may not be that a seller would be turned in as a "suspect" of some kind, that might be a stretch, but rather, eBay would like to point to "something" (anything!) that they're doing that supposedly combats the rampant fraud on their site. There is the motive.

But can any rational person accept eBay's stated reasoning for their actions, especially in consideration of the alternatives?

Alternatives? Yes. But more on that below. To begin with, is it even "wise" to have the Seller worrying about selling an item too "cheap"? This leads to another problem (on eBay, every problem they create leads to more problems): Is the "true auction" now history? It can be argued that the Seller who dares to start his auction at a penny, and is OK with whatever the final outcome is, would now risk SUSPENSION due to his inability to predict the final outcome of the auction! Another dimension to this hasn't been mentioned yet, but eBay actually refuses to state an official dollar "threshold" for what might be allowable, or can we say, "not too cheap". This goes along perfectly with the fact that this diabolical policy is secret, and selectively applied to begin with! How can they tell you what "too cheap" is, when the whole purpose is to arbitrarily control Sellers who don't fit into their future vision, of the New and Better Amazon, that eBay has been desperate to become?

At a minimum, from the standpoint of simple justice, this is an unfair burden to place upon the seller.

Objection! "Why can't you just tow the line? Do you have to sell something for a buck? Can't you see, you're promoting fraud!" Well, let's just say for the sake of argument that "cheap" items do help promote fraud, since the potential fraudster intentionally goes looking for "cheap" items to build feedback on, which will be abused shortly, as they begin to sell items with no intent to deliver. This is where the "alternative" comes in. Rather than asking sellers to turn their worlds up-side-down, shouldn't eBay actually DO something that really makes sense instead?

Ebay enjoys a tremendous amount of data, at their finger-tips, about most of what goes on in the world of eBay. They already have solid "profile" info on real-world fraudsters that they have accumulated, and likely defines 99% of the problem. One of their programmers can easily put together a "net" that identifies potential fraudsters before they can act. Further, other behaviors of potentially fraudulent sellers that have been identified can be used to continually monitor any changes in the behavior of those on te suspect list, as generated by the "net" mentioned above. Too "theoretical"? No, it's common sense, which is probably why it isn't done over at the Evil Empire of Ebay. They would rather screw over honest long-time sellers, while allowing overseas sellers carte blanc.

Real examples. If for example, eBay already knows that potential fraudsters utilize "cheap" feedback, then "cheap" item buyers are automatically on a suspect list. If for example, eBay has data suggesting that the fraudster generally wants "x" number of feedbacks in order to appear legit, then the cheap item buyer list from above is used to "watch" the suspects as they approach the known feedback target. If then the identified suspects begin to list items, as sellers, then you would think they would be well on their way to being stopped dead in their tracks. An obvious example here: The suspect who just turned seller suddenly begins selling higher-dollar items. Clearly, a risk. Or, is the seller operating from a known fraud haven? Add that to the risk level, etc.

In short, it is not only eBay's JOB to do "real" fraud deterrence, but they are also wonderfully equipped to do just that. Certainly, they can do a better job of it than their poor sellers! And that's so obvious, it begs the question, "What is REALLY going on with these corrupt eBay corporate criminals?"

Ah, let us keep thinking about that, because if we can crack that code, we might even be able to see what else is coming.

I'd enjoy your comments!

eBay Begs for Lawsuit: "Real" Auctions Actually PROHIBITED!

2010-03-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

You read that right. Recently, eBay rolled out yet another diabolical "secret" policy that effectively prohibits genuine auctions! You may wonder how such a thing is possible, especially from a company that earned it's reputation primarily as an auction site. In fact, millions of people might be very surprised to learn that their search for "real" auctions is already doomed, thanks to a relatively "new" policy that eBay might rather prefer is not made public.

If you sell on eBay, you may already know about this baseless, and quite likely illegal policy. Perhaps you have sold on the site for years, and innocently listed items for a "penny-start", in the obvious hopes that they might do better. In fact, to your surprise, they do rather "well", some of the items selling for twenty or thirty times your cost! It's all good, right?

WRONG. Here's an example of what might happen: You are cleaning out your garage, or closet, or safe, and come across a box of a lot of widgets, hundreds, maybe thousands. You recall that you got them very cheap, in fact, your cost was only a few cents each. As a seller on eBay, you immediately start thinking about how you are going to turn these widgets into dollars. In fact, since you have sold for years, you are quick to recognize how they might well help you move other much more expensive merchandise, that you don't seem to move enough of these days. You're excited! You "get listing", and soon find that your nice little auctions are exceeding your expectations! After all, with such a low unit cost, how can you go wrong?

WHY THIS SCENARIO SHOULD BE GREAT FOR EVERYONE!! Low cost generally means low risk in many business environments. Together with some basic marketing, success can be had by almost anyone who pays attention. And this is just for starters, since the experienced eBayer can take this to yet another level. For example, they will take their listings for the low cost widget, and in each one, they will refer to another relevant or related item that they sell for much more. Often, the buyer of one similar low priced item can be persuaded to perhaps buy a larger quantity. Perhaps they save on shipping, etc. It's all good! The buyer has the opportunity to grab something very cheap. They also are introduced to an opportunity for even more of what they went looking for. The seller's sales are up! eBay's fees are up! Buyers are getting great value. How CAN this be bad??

But there is a big fly in the ointment, because if eBay notices what you're doing, you're going to get some heartburn. You might wake up some morning, after seeing all your efforts from the prior week so nicely rewarded, and...

KABOOM!! You're now in deep poopoo my friend. You see, all your new, "great deal" widget auctions have been taken down by eBay! Outrageous! Further, you've been slapped with a number of "policy violations" that may or more than likely, they just won't make sense.

Being of goodwill, you honestly try to understand what happened. You read the policy violations, "key word spamming", mis-categorization", etc. Since it really doesn't make sense in your case, you call your Account Manager at eBay, confident that it is all just a mistake on their part. After all, you have earned a high status as a PowerSeller, and your rep has been assigned to "help" you, be your advocate, right? But there is a decidedly different vibe going on. The rep informs you that you are guilty of feedback abuse, and worse, "promoting fraud". You're stunned! But it only gets worse. Your eBay rep is extremely serious, and threatens suspension if you continue. His/her explanations fall far short of course, but he underscores the fact that he is all-powerful, and that such a thing is very Verbotten, and since the policy is in fact largely "secret", you must trust him! Of course, even though you are in shock, and wonder if you're simply having a bad dream, you manage to request a chat with the young lad's supervisor. Again, utter shock. The answer is "No, you will deal with ME only!"

Far fetched? Just a rogue rep, out of control? Sadly, this is more an indication of a rogue company, eBay, than a rogue rep. There are those who will not believe it, until it happens to them, but rest assured, this "new eBay", is very bad news, and this latest development does not bode well.

Let's give you a heads-up on what your rep might say, if explanations are given at all. They tell you that since your auctions "obviously" are "too cheap", you can't possibly have a genuine business motive in listing your auctions. Don't bother protesting that you must know your business better than the young jack-ass you're talking to, because you just might get suspended! You might remind the rep that you are a very legit seller, having sold for so-many years, etc., having sold "real" items all along, some for many thousands of dollars. "And besides, if my motive was not making money, why would I do it?"

Get ready. "Because you are promoting FRAUD!" You think to yourself, "Holy shit, the punk is on drugs!", but after gasping, you politely ask how on earth such a thing can be. He explains that lots of fraudsters go looking for "cheap" auctions, in order to build feedback. Once they have so many feedbacks, they will then begin selling, and then promptly defraud the public. Because you dared sell an item for under a dollar, YOU, the pain-in-the-rep's-ass Seller, are part of the fraud game! Shame on you! You WILL be suspended if you dare sell a "cheap" item again!

It get's WORSE!! You pause, you now realize you have indeed entered the Twilight Zone, but you decide to play along. After all, you do eBay full-time! You've got kids to feed. You politely ask, "OK, I get it, suspension for selling cheap items, got it. But, can you at least tell me what 'cheap' is? I mean, what if I sold something for three bucks?" Answer: "Just don't do it!" You now know he just isn't getting your question. "Uh, maybe I didn't make my point well enough. Coul you please give me a dollar-threshold maybe, that way I don't inadvertently sell something too cheap..." Answer: "No, I'm NOT giving you that information!" "But how am I supposed to conduct business if I don't know?" Rep: "Listen! I'm not kidding, I WILL shut you down! I just shut down a guy last week, he's on a 30 Day Suspension! You're NEXT!"

Folks, I would like to venture that this is just about as bad as it gets, but from this company, I won't hold my breath. EBay is doomed, and the evil corporate culture that has evolved is nothing short of fascist, to the point of being ridiculous.

If you know of any attorney's out there who might like to take a crack at these Nazi's, please feel free to have them contact me. From the legal perspective, this can't be OK. This outfit pretends to be a venue for real auctions, and even has the chutzpah to put disinfo on their front page, such as, "Items under $5!" Little does the consumer know that the system is now rigged, and they will look in vain for real deals, since sellers are literally not allowed to provide them!

One final issue. For those who could see eBay's point about fraud, I would hope that it was equally clear that fighting fraud on their site, is THEIR job, and they have tremendous tools at their disposal for doing just that. To shift the responsibility on to the seller is outrageous, ineffectual, and utterly without foundation. I'll more fully address that fact in the next rant!

Ebay and the New Economy: Closing Off the Exits

2010-03-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

It's 2010, and there's a New World Order breaking out, and it's being ushered in at break-neck speed by the New Economy, or in other words, the Greatest Depression ever. Amidst the turmoil, the jobless, the increasingly hopeless, the broken lives of regular folks, who used to count themselves as "normal" middle-class...is there not still "opportunity" in this great nation of the United States of America?

Ten years ago, the answer would have been a very confident YES! But today, few people feel this way. For the jobless, they can never recall a time when so much rejection has come their way. Perhaps they have experienced unemployment in the past, but for those going on two or more years of a serious job quest, there can be no doubt things have drastically changed. Hope is fading fast, especially for those over the age of 40, or worse, for those who might still hope for half their former salary. And even the humble those who have resigned themselves to minimal wages, they too are still met with utter disappointment.

For those of us who are self-employed, we have had a rough road as well, but many of us can relate to having friends and acquaintances who knew of our previous success, and now wonder if they can get on that same bandwagon. "Hey, you do eBay, right? I've been thinking of doing something like that!" Of course, the only reason they're thinking about it is because of this damn economy, but we must answer something. "Well, things are not the way they used to be!"

Ebay has changed drastically, and mostly for the worse. What made it great has been abandoned, thanks mostly to the tragic blunder of putting a sociopath like John Donahoe in charge of a company that can only really prosper respecting it's entrepreneurial roots. But it's short-sightedness, and self-destructive mania, which will eventually result in company failure, could not have been timed any worse. Because the incredible power of what ebay "was", is desperately needed TODAY.

This Greatest Depression, which has prematurely put out to pasture millions, has destroyed the hopes of the young, ended marriages, and made decent families destitute, would have far less power if there was today a way to "escape", as in days gone by. But things have changed. No, it's not the Old West, it's not the Reagan Era...and it's not that special time only a decade ago where ANY decent entrepreneur could get on to eBay, and write their own ticket. Today, that route of escape has been sealed off, since eBay has become a place for only the very large corporatist sellers (with some casual sellers and former hangers-on for transitional window dressing). No, the recently unemployed single mother today can't really go to eBay and expect much at all. This exit has been sealed off, and just when we needed it most!

Perhaps it is merely a coincidence of timing, but there are those who might wonder if there's more to the story. Surely it's not a "conspiracy"...Pahleese do NOT mention that damnable New World Order! You conspiracy nuts never stop!" Fine. We will believe what we will, as it ever has been. But for those of us who remember what eBay was, what it represented, what it did for the true entrepreneur, it's huge power...we dare not dismiss the possibility that others noticed this too. If eBay continued to be an empowering force for the masses, if it retained the potential to help virtually anyone who had minimal motivation and resources, then this situation might have ot change, if there was a "higher agenda" if you will, by those who had the power to foment exactly what we are experiencing now, the Greatest Depression.

WHY would anyone do anything like this on purpose? Pay attention: Because they can, and because they must break down the entire world, in order to rebuild it again, to their own liking. Fabian Socialism. It's come to eBay. It's alive and well in the USS frigin' A. It's here to stay...or is it? What shall WE do?

I'd enjoy your comments!

eBay's Suicide Assisted by Infamous Dr. Donahoe

2010-03-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

John Donahoe, CEO of eBay is the biggest reason for seller frustration, although many do not yet realize this. Going right to the top has always been a good way to discover why things are the way they are. And so it is with eBay, and with all the Orwellian changes now confronting sellers. Of course, most sellers reeling from the constant barrage of changes hardly have time to think about how or why things have gotten so bad. But when they get a moment, they will realize that the biggest changes have come down under Donahoe.

Changes such as the infamous "No Negative" policy, now almost legendary in it's obvious stupidity. Or the "Five Star" DSR system largely developed by eBay's Brian Burke, a titanic blunder that is still unfolding into what may signal the not-so-far-off death of eBay. And still more nefarious changes that few become aware of, until it's too late. Changes to policies that are now literally SECRET, often blatantly subjective, and even defy any means to quantify. If you think this is mere hyperbole, or exaggeration, all you need to do is speak to one of the many eBay reps, "Account Managers", whose job description has now become to micro-manage sellers out the exits, who don't meet the super-secret Orwellian eBay vision of the future.

Are you a serious seller, perhaps with impecable feedback, even higher dollar volume? Chances are that the more "successful" you are, the more eBay will subject you to their microscope, demanding things that are beyond anyone's imagination, even a year ago. This can not end well! eBay is in the process of committing suicide, and few seem to realize how dire the situation is.

Back to Donahoe. He is the reason for what sellers are experiencing, and this is why. He has been contractually promised immense bonuses that he can only claim by trashing the future of eBay, and in the process, the lowly seller who might stand in his way. It is not unlike a politician who gains office with all manner of lies, but once he is in, predictably begins to line his pockets, at the expense of his constituents. And if the matter of re-election should come up, a small period of bribing and lying to the electorate is granted briefly to achieve the short-term goal. And the process repeats, ad infinitum. But as we look around today, after decades of greedy politicians on the take, what's left of the country? What's left for our children? This is exactly what is taking place now under the mad sociopath Donahoe.

If you own eBay stock, look out, you're going to get raped. When the infamous "Doctor" sails into the sunset (on his mega-yacht!), the patient will be left for dead, and the once great eBay will be no more.

Are you a seller? I would welcome your comments!