Friends, We are living in very interesting times. The two-century experiment with liberal democracy is fading away, along with cheap energy and the age of industrial growth. Five centuries of national competition have culminated in the dominance of a single super power, which is now busily spreading a fascist cloud over the globe. Our hundred-century experiment with exploitive civilization has reached its climax and the Earth is losing patience with us. As our life-support systems disintegrate, our elite leaders are quietly engaged in a project to reduce world population by 80% so that their Wall Street money world can continue to function. While third-world populations suffer under the twin boots of neoliberal imperialism and New-American-Century aggression, the populations of the 'democracies' live in a matrix world of managed media images and orchestrated events (eg., "terrorism"), with little understanding of what's going on in the real world or why. I first saw the signs of these 'interesting times' in the way the first Gulf War was carried out (c. 1990), and it hit home for me when Daddy Bush announced the beginning of a "new world order". That helped me realize that the most significant event was not the Gulf War itself, but rather the way the UN was manipulated, and what that signalled about Washington's plans for accelerated unilateral interventionism, under a cloak of pseudo legitimacy. What I didn't see at the time was anyone else who found in these signs the same significance I did. My previous sources of information and analysis no longer seemed relevant; they were missing the big story, the elephant in the kitchen. That's when I began thinking I might have a role to play. It took a while to escape from my career and establish a situation where I could apply myself to figuring out what is really going on in the world. The Internet then came along, I set up this list, and this became the vehicle for my investigations. In truth, they are really OUR investigations, because the process has been very interactive. Whenever I try to articulate 'how it is', you write in with information I've missed, with new insights, or with responses that indicate I haven't expressed things clearly. In this current book project, your comments have inspired me to read at least four new books this summer, which will lead to some major shifts in the second draft. I feel more like a 'community scribe' than an original thinker. Just as I can't imagine writing without a word processor, I can't imagine writing without a supportive community of reviewers and critics. The purpose of this posting is to appeal for support of another kind. My financial circumstances in Ireland have been chaotic. After attempts to do remote consulting, and a recent failed business venture, I'm now surviving on the generosity of the Irish government. I've tried applying for jobs, but there just aren't any for someone my age who didn't grow up in town, and who doesn't have a recent degree. This is actually a good situation, as I can live simply and devote full time to my 'real work'. The only problem is that the dole does not quite cover all the basic expenses. Nor does it allow for an annual trip home to visit family and new grandson, and to meet with activists. What I really need, in order for this to be a sustainable situation, is about $50/week more than the dole. I'm a bit embarrassed making this appeal, as many of you have more difficult situations than I do, are working hard every day, have families to raise and put through college, are out on the front lines of activism, etc. But if there are any of you who are inclined to support this work, and can afford to do so without impacting your own finances, then contributions would be appreciated. There's a lot of you out there, and even very small contributions would make a big difference. $50/week is not a large number, although it seems much larger now than it did when I was working for big corporations. There's an address below for any who choose to respond. sorry for the interruption, back to the current chapter, rkm http://cyberjournal.org ___________________________________ Richard Moore Quay Largo, Selskar Street Wexford, Ireland Checks good, bank drafts better, pledges divine. Please include email address so I can acknowledge. ___________________________________
