Still Here

At 6:01PM (or, 12:01PM, depending on the news agency) PDST on May 21st, the world was supposed to end, and the Rapture of (depending on who you talk to, only about some 144,000) Faithful And True Xtians to their heavenly reward, leaving behind their clothing and appearing before god (or, somebody's god, anyway) in "the altogether". They will then spend eternity praising and communing and more praising and communing, and then more praising. In the nude. Forever. Not even a g-string.

The majority of humanity would be Left Behind, muddling through about five months of (as Dr. Peter Weckman told us in Ghostbusters) "Basically the worst parts of the Bible" and a return to a pre-Internet culture, before the Earth would be horribly destroyed. The Billions still on Earth who perish will be cast into a pit of eternal fire and damnation, where they will be damned and in the fire forever, and Lloyd Blankfein and Angelo Mozilo will try to sell other damned souls Ice water Futures. Forever.


One Of The Millions Of Handbills, Preaching The Bad News™:
You're Damned, Because You Did A Bad Thing God Knows About

All this was utterly made up prophesied by the Reverend Harold Camping of Oakland, CA, just across the Bay from where I have my rug and dog bowl. And, international media have already reported that this wasn't Camping's first attempt at predicting Judgement Day: He had done so in 1994. When The End didn't occur then, either, Camping went back to his drawing board and came up with May 21, 2011 (Professor Frink: "Ah, sorry; forgot to carry the '2'!") as the really correct and accurate it's-for-real-this-time date.


Harold Camping Says Even If Jesus Doesn't, Chtulu Loves You.

No one knows how many years Camping had asked for money before the 1994 Judgement Day did not happen -- but after coming up with the 2011 "for-real" date, he had seventeen years to sell this concept and obtain more money from his more easily influenced fundamentalist Xtian followers.

Through his network of Family Radio stations (it's FCC licenses alone are valued at approximately $50 Million), Camping broadcast his message of The End Times, and his (always) urgent request that the Faithful send money. Lots of it. To do the good work.


Julian Beck As That Wacky Reverend Kane In Poltergeist II (1986)
Do I Really Have To Spell It Out, Or Did You Make The Connection?

And, send it they did -- approximately $80 Million since 1994, a large amount spent on printing leaflets and billboards from sea to shining sea, announcing The Bad News that the world was ending and that after 6:01PM PDST on 5/21/11, there would be no possibility of salvation If you weren't Raptured, you were damned -- Jesus would turn a deaf ear to your plea for forgiveness. Harold said so.

As the good people at Blazing Alcoholic Beverage point out,

Actor 212 said,

Revelation specifies that Jesus would choose 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel... so that's 144,000 people, all Jewish, presumably.

Now, while one might be tempted to go see if Israel... had an unusual spike in mysterious deaths yesterday, the Diaspora and subsequent immigrations has probably dispersed those Chosen over the entire planet. 144,000 deaths in a population of 7 billion wouldn't even show up in a statistical analysis of the third order.

So it could have happened.

I have the temerity to ask: Providing you believe in the possibility of a comic-book or Hollywood special-effects kind of religion; what kind of deity provides salvation for only 144,000 out of 6-plus billion people or provides no mechanisms or rules by which to increase that number; thereby ensuring that the majority of humans will perish in the everlasting lake, etc. Huh? What Kind?


Your Punishment For Buying Glenny's Line: In Hell, He's On Every Channel

Harold Camping's deity, apparently. Harold was reported as being "in seclusion" in his split-level home in Alameda, CA, and told the local ABC affiliate, KGO-7, that he was "honestly perplexed" and "doesn't understand why [the Rapture] didn't occur" as he had determined.

Possibly he will go back to the drawing board and come up with a new absolutely correct and for-real-this-time-we're-really-sure Rapture Date in, 2030, say. Another nineteen years of gathering the faithful, bringing in the sheaves and shearing the sheep. It's old-school banking, baby.

Camping will have passed away by then, but if his Family Radio is a Camping family business (as many evangelical schemes tend to be), then he'll be leaving a wonderful legacy of fund-raising for his children, along with attempts to raise some of the dead.


The Rapture: A Completely Believable Premise, With Flamingos

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Noch Einmal:

Radio Host Who Predicted End of Days To Speak
"Flabbergasted" Harold Camping says he will make a statement on his radio station at some point today -- By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press

Harold Camping declined Monday to immediately comment to The Associated Press at his home, but said he'll make a full statement in a radio broadcast later in the day... The 89-year-old Camping told the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday he was "flabbergasted" his doomsday prophecy did not come true.

Some of Camping's followers say they are surprised they were not swept up to heaven... Along with the disappointment, believers who spent their savings to advertise the world's end are now facing more earthly concerns.

Noch Einmal, Mit Schwein:

The New York Times reports that Harold Camping says October 21st is the absolutely, definite, real and honest-to-somebody's-god true date for... something. Possibly, the emergence of a new form of Latte from the mind of Starbucks™.

Yesterday, Camping told his radio audience of six people and a Parakeet that still listen to him that May 21st had been an "invisible Judgement Day" -- just because you could not see it, you of little faith, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

What [Camping] decided, apparently, was that May 21 had been “an invisible judgment day,” of the spiritual variety, rather than his original vision of earthquakes and other disasters leading to five months of hell on earth, culminating in a spectacular doomsday on Oct. 21 — something he had repeatedly guaranteed.

On Monday, however, Mr. Camping seemed satisfied with his new interpretation, which apparently spared humankind its months of torture for a single day of destruction.

“The world has been warned,” said Mr. Camping, who said this would be his last interview... “We don’t have to talk about this anymore,” he said.

At the same time, it raised concerns that some believers might do themselves harm rather than face Mr. Camping’s promised apocalypse, something he refused to take responsibility for on Monday. “I am not the authority,” he said.

But Mr. Camping said his company — which is a nonprofit — would also not return donations given by his followers in advance of the May 21 prediction. “We’re not at the end,” he said, “Why would we return it?”

Why, Indeed.

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A Reprint: More Unspeakableness

Chtulu Fhtagn Cheeseburger:
Reality's Not What It Used To Be

Buckle Up For An E-Ticket Ride; It's Easy And Fun!

(Given the number of bizarre things occurring in the world as we speak, I assume it's because we're living in a John Carpenter film (something like In The Mouth Of Madness). At any moment, the ground will give way outside the Ronald Rayguns Shrine, and the rotted visage of Ol' Ron will appear. It will take precisely twelve hours for him to become the Republican party's presumptive nominee for president in 2012.)

(But there have been signs and portents, in plenty, that the scrim between the Universe we believe we know and our imagination is very thin. And one such sign has been... Sweet Sue's Whole Chicken In A Can)

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Even H.P. Lovecraft Could Not Have Envisioned The Badness

This isn't going to become a regular item -- but another thing in a can was made known to me recently. As a Dog, I'll eat a wide variety of food (and the occasional non-food) items -- but even this is too much for me to contemplate: Sweet Sue's Canned Whole Chicken.


It Emerges: Ia! Ia! Sweeta Sue Chiken ARRROOOOOO!!

First, the unsuspecting housewife releases the Thing from the chamber where it slumbered. Then, without warning, it grew -- and grew, and began to threaten mankind with the unbelievable fury of unleashed cosmic forces!!!

And, as we all know, you don't want to mess around with Cosmic Forces.



Unleashed, The Beast Began An Orgy Of Feeding --
But, Only In North Beach And Fisherman's Wharf

ANNOUNCER: We're here on CBS Sportstalk Radio; I'm Bob Hampton, and we're talking about the giant tentacled monster that's making life a little hectic for the drive-time commute in the Bay Area this morning... And how about those Giants, huh? Will the Raiders make their move to Santa Clara? Let's take your calls.

Hello, you're on CBS Sportstalk 96.

CHTULU: Hi, Bob; this is Chtulu from Ryleh. Love your show.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks. Where is Ryleh? Is that Contra Costa County, near Pinole?

CHTULU: Actually, it's an ancient city, sunken deep in the ocean for many, many Millennia, and initially a base for many of the Old Ones. You see, the history you've been taught about your world, and the Universe, is about as wrong as Y. A. Tittle staying in football past Forty. Many things existed on Earth, long before human history began. And, one of them was Me -- I've been out the loop for a while, but I'm back now and just wanted to AAARRRRRRRROOOOOO!!!!



Sorry about that, Bob. It's just so good to be out.

ANNOUNCER: Uh-huh. You just get out of the Big Q, huh?

CHTULU: Not a prison as you would understand it, Bob. But I was just listening to your program this morning and did want to comment on the appearance of the 'tentacled monster' you mentioned a moment ago.

ANNOUNCER: What's your comment?

CHTULU: Well, you see -- the stars are right, Bob, and the Great Wheel has come around; and it's time for the ancient forces that once ruled this planet to assert themselves. So I don't think anyone should be surprised when they open a can of something like a whole chicken, only to have it transform into something as big as the Bank Of America building in a matter of hours and threaten all of human civilization.

ANNOUNCER: Okay. Did you catch the Giants' game last night by chance, Chtulu?

CHTULU: What?

ANNOUNCER: Did you see last nights' game?

CHTULU: Bob -- with all due respect; I'm a long-time listener, and I've always liked this program -- but we're talking about a radical shift in human consciousness, here. We're talking about the most beautiful mysteries, and the most terrifying nightmares, of humanity made manifest in this world simply through the energy of thought. This is an event that's... well, it's Galactic in its implications, and frankly, Bob, in light of that I'm a little less interested in what Buster Posey will or won't do this season.

ANNOUNCER: [Pauses] So you're saying Posey won't do well heading into the season?

CHTULU: Huh? Bob -- try focusing a little. There's an Octopus the size of Cleveland out in the Bay. I see on CNN that they're considering carpet-bombing the Golden Gate with nerve agents -- nerve agents, Bob.

ANNOUNCER: All right; well, that's an interesting perspective, but I'd say Posey's gonna have a great career with the San Francisco Giants, and we look forward to that.

CHTULU: Not going to mean a thing if he gets eaten, Bob.

ANNOUNCER: Okay; and we thank you for your call. Hey, the time is 11:30, and whenever you just don't have time to spend on meal preparation, Sweet Sue's Whole Chicken In A Can can help!


The Peasants Begin To Understand: They're Doomed --
In The Horrifying Tales Of The Plush Chtulu!

After all, while Sparkle Christmas Tree Sweater Bear, for example, was a friend to all boys and girls, and Ellie the Happy Elephant was beloved by all who knew her, neither they nor any of the other animals commanded a worldwide fanatical cult of believers ready to do their bidding, not to mention being an ageless, indestructible creature from Beyond the Stars.

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Little Paulie's Appalling Plan

Rep. Paul Ryan Practices His "Honest Face"

If He And I Were Ten, I'd Beat Him Up And Take His Lunch.

Paul Ryan, the "author" of a plan to hand Medicare to Goldman Sachs effectively privatize the government's public health system which was beaten to a pulp after his initial release in March, has returned with Part Two, Saving Plan Ryan. It was also noted that Ryan has a forehead hairline low enough to be considered within the Neanderthal range.

There appears no real difference between Ryan Plan One and The New Ryan Plan -- not that we'd be allowed to know; Ryan cannot or will not provide the details of this New Plan.

It isn't clear when all will be revealed, either. But, Ryan did say that anyone who criticizes the unseen Plan is engaging in "class warfare".

It's a bit like saying you have proof that you're Anastasia, but can't really show anyone because it's secret, and those who say your claim is spurious are just Bolshevik meanies who would, you know, shoot you in a basement or something.

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Chtulu Is Coming

Managing Director Of IMF Busted In New York

Strauss-Kahn And His Wife, Anne Sinclair (Photo: JungleKey)

Truly a WTF moment:

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was taken into police custody after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport.

According to the official, Mr. Strauss-Kahn allegedly forced a cleaning woman onto his bed and sodomized her at about noon Saturday inside his room at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square. (Little Rupert's WSJ, via Talking Points Memo)

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, is not only the managing director of the IMF (and, if you discount what the organization is and does, has received high praise for his work during the past three years of worldwide economic crisis), but was widely expected to be the candidate of France's Socialist Party for that nation's presidency.

The New York Times reported that Strauss-Kahn, who had been staying in a $3,000-per night suite at the exclusive hotel, had assaulted the cleaning woman after she entered the suite and stood in its foyer.

"[Strauss-Kahn] came out of the bathroom, fully naked, and attempted to sexually assault her,” [NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul J.] Browne said. “He grabs her, according to her account, and pulls her into the bedroom and onto the bed”... He locked the door to the suite, Mr. Browne said.

“She fights him off, and he then drags her down the hallway to the bathroom, where he sexually assaults her a second time,” Mr. Browne added.

At some point during the assault, the woman broke free... and “she fled, reported it to other hotel personnel, who called 911. When the police arrived, he was not there.” Mr. Browne said Mr. Strauss-Kahn appeared to have left in a hurry. Investigators found his cellphone in the room, which he had left behind, and one law enforcement official said that investigation uncovered forensic evidence that would contain DNA.

It's a matter of record that Strauss-Kahn had been caught in 2008 having an affair with a Hungarian economist who was one of his subordinates at the IMF. The organization's Board of Directors made a statement at the time, indicating that he had "shown poor judgment", but took no other action. Strauss-Kahn issued an apology to employees at the bank, and to his wife, Anne Sinclair, an American-born French journalist.

Piroska Nagy, IMF Employee Involved With Strauss-Khan, 2008

Still -- as a former investigator, there's something about this that doesn't smell right. A man of Strauss-Kahn's position and influence, set to be a candidate for the French presidency, had far too much to lose. Unless he's done something like this before and simply never been caught, or has a medical condition which would explain spontaneous sexual aggression, there's no explanation for Strauss-Khan's behavior.

If he'd wanted to, he could have arranged for a grande Horizontale, who would allow him some Greek action or a little aggression role-playing, if that was his particular peccadillo; the simplest thing for a man operating at his level in the world.

He'd already been exposed publicly having an affair -- and it could be argued that he'd been taught a lesson. But even so, it's quite a leap from the relative discretion of an affair with a work subordinate, to literally bumping into a woman he had never seen before and sexually assaulting her, immediately, in a particularly brutal and degrading fashion. That part just doesn't fit.

The Famous Chtulu Balloon In The Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- A Favorite With Children (Photo: Ia-Ia-Chtulu-Fagn.org)

I'm assuming that the reason behind this is that, in his position, Strauss-Kahn has access to information we don't -- that we're about to be hailed and boarded by aliens; or that a giant asteroid is on a collision course with Earth.

Or, that Dread Chtulu is awakening from his slumber at Ryleh and will shortly arrive to allow The Old Ones to have their way with our women and drink up all stocks of Diet Coke. Or, as so many evangelical Xtians are praying for, the world will end next Saturday.

---

Bloggr U Suk

When Pixels Die

Well, I'm going to have to go back and reconstruct a long post about American hegemony and a crying little girl in Iraq, which was swallowed when Google / Blogger went Ka-Blooie for a few days.

I'm assuming that Larry and Sergey were just really upset with Mark, when Facebook's attempt to screw with Googli were revealed, and one of them (probably Sergey; you know how those Russians get) kicked a server rack.

So it all comes down to a spat between a few rich kids through the proxy of their PR firms.

But, ain't in my business -- so s'all Good, Yo.

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National Tunes

Talking Points Memo passed along some information from Sam Biddle at Gizmodo which may bring all of us some cheer (particularly Dogs who like to listen to Victrolas).

The Library Of Congress, that repository of the documents, books, journals, Congressional Records and ephemera that constitute our national collective memory, have just made a huge library of cylinder and 78 Disc recordings available, online as streaming audio. For free.

The "National Jukebox," available on a streaming-only basis, unfortunately, is a massive trove of audio recordings. Music, speeches, humor readings--spanning decades of American history. The original words of Teddy Roosevelt. "Rhapsody in Blue" with George Gershwin on piano. Serious national gems. And, due to some cuddling with Sony, the label's entire pre-1925 catalog will be accessible, encompassing a significant (and widely forgotten) musical past.

Accompanying the huge sonic repository is a ton of album and label artwork, as well as biographical information on artists (which you'll probably need for artists so dead that Sony gave them away for free).

Here, for example, is Smiler Rag, by Percy Wenrich and His Orchestra, a 10" 78-RPM record on the RCA Victor label, recorded March 1, 1910 (Please Note The Very Nice Dog On The Label -- A Jack Russell Terrier And No Relation To Mongo; But, Still):


(As Usual, My Dog-Sized Blog Doesn't Allow Showing The Full Area For This Audio Player -- You Can See The Full Version At The LOC Site Here.)

I'm involved in a writing project that's set in 1925, and not necessarily in the United States -- but something I wonder frequently is, how can we know what the music of any period actually sounded like?

After the advent of recorded sound, that becomes easier; but for every Scott Joplin, Glenn Miller, Fats Waller or Reinhardt and Grapelli, there were hundreds of other singers and bands who never 'hit the big time', but whose sounds were part of the audio leitmotiv of an era, and are for the most part lost -- until something like this archive comes along.

Who really remembers what popular music in 1910 might have sounded like? No one living now can -- but something like this effort by the Library Of Congress can give us a taste.

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What The Dog Is Doing

Posting has been nonexistent light recently. I may only be a Dog, but I do have a job which requires that I pay attention to it occasionally.

More shortly, which should cheer the hearts of the four three people who bother to read any of this stuff.

But, then, the world is ending in ten days. So, s'all Good, Yo.

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Why There's No More Bin Laden

SECRET / JUPITER / NO DIS

VIA MKCASTLE / Cell Phone Intercept 26877
06/12/2010 / 1145 Local Time / Abbottabad, Pakistan
Number A [REDACTED] Number B [REDACTED]
Signal Strength: 3 Confidence: High
(The following transcript of a cellular phone conversation between two male Arabic speakers was intercepted by a surveillance drone operating over the city of ABBOTTABAD [Grid Coord. 362 N 127]
Translation follows:)

MALE No. 1: Hello?
MALE No. 2: Hello; is this Mister Mahmood?
MALE No. 1: Yes, who's calling? What do you want?
MALE No. 2: Greetings Mr. Mahmood; this is Pandar, the builder? It was I who put in the second wall around your home last month.
MALE No. 1: (Pause) Yes? And?
MALE No. 2: Well, I sent you an invoice when the work was completed, Mr. Mahmood, and I have yet to receive payment.
MALE No. 1: What the fuck are you talking about? I paid you already. I told you, my brother would send you a check. [untranslatable], and he said yes, he did.
MALE No. 2: Well, that's where the difficulty comes, Mr. Mahmood. Your brother's check was returned for insufficient funds.
MALE No. 1: Don't try to fuck my dog, Mr. Pandar. That check was good.
MALE No. 2: Sadly, Mr. Mahmood, this is not the case. I understand they may do things differently in Saudi Arabia, but --
MALE No. 1: [cuts off Male No. 2] What? How do you know I'm from Saudi Arabia? I'm not. I'm not. I'm from Yemen! You goat-fucking seller of trinkets; your mother and grandmother suck underwear worn by the dead! What are you talking about?
MALE No. 2: Please, Mr. Mahmood. I am only an honest merchant, wishing to be paid for work honestly performed.
MALE No. 1: Well -- well, the wall isn't what I asked for! It was specified in the work order that you use redwood, and I go out there and look at it; is that redwood? No! It's fucking white pine, is what it is!
MALE No. 2: But Mr. Mahmood, we discussed this -- or, I discussed it with your brother. He said it was perfectly fine to use pine. The redwood -- well, with the Taliban blowing up convoys, we had ordered some redwood, god willing -- but god was not with us. The convoy was attacked and it all burned up! Truly, an act of god, you see?
MALE No. 1: Aw, fuck me; I told them to leave that convoy alone!
MALE No. 2: Excuse me, Mr. Mahmood? You broke up for a moment.
MALE No. 1: Look, where was the change order? I've been in construction most of my life, Mr. Pandar, so don't think you're dealing with some Tuareg from the sticks! And don't bring god into this, blasphemer! Thief! Wombat! Animal parts! You gave me white pine, but you charged me for redwood!!Where was the goddamn change order??
MALE No. 2: God willing, I'm hoping it will not come to some legal unpleasantness, Mr. Mahmood. I'm sure we can work out a payment arrangement if it is a difficulty for you. I am a fair man.
MALE No. 1: Fair? Fair?? Give my dog a blow job, you pig! I'm not paying you one Rupee -- not a fucking Dinar, you got that??
MALE No. 2: But please, sir --
MALE No. 1: Chicken fornicator! I pay you nothing!!

[MALE NO. 1 terminates call. MALE NO. 2 remains on line.]

MALE No. 2: Well, Mr. bin Laden, I believe you will.

Call Terminated 1150 Local Time

The rule here is: If you're a top-listed international fugitive? Don't stiff your building contractors. Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark.

---

MEHR: In all seriousness, a more plausible reason for finding bin Laden now may be that as part of the Great Game of power in the Muslim world, and in a community of other nations, the House 'O Saud ratted him out.

The royal family preferred to allow some of its more radically-inclined members to provide support to Bin Laden on a covert basis in return for al-Qaeda's de facto agreement to leave the Arabian Peninsula in peace. As a WikiLeaks cable revealed, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in a secret December 2009 memo, "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT [Lashkar-e-Toiba] and other terrorist groups."

As the "Arab Spring" gave more opportunity for Al-Qaeda, the Saudi royals, ever mindful of staying on top of their real enemies for the control of the Islamic world, the Iranians (who have apparently been the ideological brothers if not active supporters of bin Laden), decided to give bin Laden the Kiss to Fredo. And, at the same time, make nice with the still-powerful-at-the-moment US of A.

---

Ding-Dong

Bitch Be Dead

"After The Assault On His Compound, American Forces Removed
bin Laden, Who Was Disposed Of At Sea" (DOD Spokesman)

>> Sixty-Six years ago on Saturday, Ol' Adolf fired the shot heard 'round the world (Eva simply took poison) in the Berlin Führerbunker behind the Reichschancellery.

>> Eight years ago, a manifestly stupid man -- so lacking in intelligence that to this day, he still believes he was a "good" president who did very good things for the nation -- landed on an aircraft carrier with a rolled-up sock jammed in his crotch, then announced that we were all Really Big Winners in Iraq.

And just so all the teevee cameras got it right, draped from the operational bridge of the CV was a banner: "Mission Accomplished".

>> Two days ago, in a details-as-yet-unknown mission, an American military and intelligence team assaulted a compound in Abbottabad (probably near Costellodahar), Pakistan. In the course of the assault, Osama bin Laden was killed, his body removed by the assault team, and apparently dumped at sea in an unknown location.

Compound In Abbottabad (We're Not Making This Name Up)
(Photo: NYT/T.Mughal - European Pressphoto Agency)

So now, bin Laden's dead. Not that I'm unhappy; he was a murderous neurotic of little use to anyone, particularly Arabs and Muslims, no matter what Hamas says.

Osama's Abbottabad Compound (Dept. of Defense Image)

Bin Laden's Compound In Abbottabad As Seen From GoogleEarth

If I were an Arab, even if I believed that American hegemony was despoiling the world and against god (someone's god, anyway), I'd still think that Osama had outlived his usefulness.

I would hope that the way forward in the Arabic and Muslim world will not be decided by Islamic fundamentalists -- if it were to be so, they would be having a much larger effect on the so-called 'Arab Spring', and (insofar as I can tell, and remember, I'm only a Dog) they aren't. And having fundamentalist anybody in control is never a step forward, only backwards.

Many Sources Have Said That bin Laden Was Living Openly
In Pakistan, Protected By Their ISI Intelligence Service

The world is an ocean, and particularly dangerous, blind, murderous forms of predator have always swam in its shadows -- killing, sowing fear; dreaming of power. Osama was just one more of them.

The Islamic world should make the attempt to encompass all points of view and tolerate wide varieties of lifestyles and personal expression, if it wants to participate fully in the 21st century -- and if it wants to promote the true spiritual development of other human beings. As a planetary civilization, we've already had the 12th century. Very few people I know are anxious to go back, and I only have to work with them.

It's my own personal belief that we have two options in the world -- wherever we are, and whatever this place is (no one's come up with a real explanation so far). The first choice is based on the idea that our actions, words, and deeds can add something positive in the world. With each personal contact, every thought, every motivation and choice, we can increase the amount of (and I shudder to use a New Age-sounding comment here) positive energy in the world.

I always remind myself of Camus' remark that, even if the world is a place without a divine presence, predestination or a "plan", we owe it to each other and the generations yet to come to leave the world a better place than we found it. That's all; just 'Do your best', and 'Treat each other kindly', and 'Clean up your room before you leave'. It actually is just that simple.

The second choice is to do the opposite -- things which add nothing but darkness, confusion, fear and pain to the world. To harm others in the name of some higher power or benefit to the community ... which is really just a screen for grasping and holding as much power and material goods for yourself as possible.

I'll let you figure out which path Little Binnie Laden chose to follow. Me, I'd rather try the first as much as I'm able. As I said, I'm not in a celebratory mood -- there are still plenty of predatory fish out there who would like to come after us. And we have our own lessons to learn about Doing Right in the world before we should go around waving the Stars and Stripes.

Even better -- why don't we all just stop attempting to oppress and kill one another in the name of some political or religious 'thing'? Or just to obtain as much money and power as possible?

Well, Auf Nicht Wiedersehen, Binnie, you murderous pile of pig droppings. I won't spend much time rejoicing that you're dead, but you made your fate -- as we all do -- and now your ability to personally dump more darkness into the world is done.

That I'll rejoice over.

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There's All This Stuff On Bee Bee Cee

Somebody die or get married or something?

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