at the end of the whip...

So the Biblical wisdom  rings true, sow upon the wind and reap the whirlwind. For me there is another and more apt analogy; at the end of the whip the sting is felt.  For the rest of the world watching Typhoon Haiyan was like the flight of a whip through the air, where the storm struck, its sting has left an indelible scar.  Surrounded by the seas, the seas may never seem the same.

It recalls times in every place when the whip's sting raised anguish.Times when all the things we have made seemed to melt away, and we are like the man who turns to the stone to hide and the stone speaks- there is no hiding place. Since we have fueled the air with carbon and moisture, sown heat and
energy, the whirlwinds are upon  us all.  There is still the persistent myth that Western money, denial, and ignorance will prevail.  In this ignorance then, we wait for the whistle of wind and the sting of the whip....hdm

Divine Winds

History and legends tell of two incidents when the nation of Japan faced certain defeat by invasion and the enemy armada was destroyed by storms-- the armadas of Kubla Kahn-- and the storms that intervened to save them were called Divine Winds(kamika ze).  The word became infamous later in WWII as Kamikaze, there it was the last gasp of a defeated nation; an incredible choice to squander its youth in a vain attempt to extend a certain defeat.  This was a man-made divinity and it failed.

 I think of this now as a great storm seems to crush some parts of my country-- places I have lived and think of as my home-- and I do not think it is a Divine Wind.  There is suffering and loss of life and we should all send our prayers to those affected and any efforts we can make to help. No, it is the impact of this storm that speaks a lesson to me-- how the sophistications, and dedications to profits and business so quickly recede and lose significance when the land on which we stand disappears beneath roiled ocean waters and flood. When our systems fail, power gone, underground and above ground networks lost to unstoppable surge of tides; it is then we are reminded of the need each of us has for others. The need for help in dire times, when we cannot be saved by wealth or false pride--or the sense of superiority which none of us has earned.  Yes, it is the Divine Wind that sweeps away pettiness and we realize it could be us in the water or our child-- reaching for a rope, reaching for life itself--hoping for a Divine Wind....hdm

The power of Definition-- the real power in the Universe?

There is a good chance that the so-called Big Bang occurred after gravity, matter, space, and time had all been in existence, so yet in some sense it - the rapid inflation of matter and energy- is still the beginning of the universe, so something unexpected is in this definition of the Universe; the power of defining things has reared its eternal head.

In politics defining things is all the game. The person who makes his or her definition stick with the voters may win the popular vote if he or she can managed to get them counted. What will be the definition of the political universe in 2008, will Iraq be a central system of Galaxies, or barely noticed dark matter unseen but accounting for so much of the equation. Will the dark energy of gasoline prices degrade the economy to the effect of fearfulness? Indignation? Will the general ideas of change face the checkbook of tax accounting and will the corporations and upper income types feel obliged to listen and nod? or will the word "tax" suck the life from a challenge to excellence once again, a national equivalent of vacuum energy.

What of the question of race will inexperience or vagueness become the watchword for the internal struggle of some minds on the incredibly silly question of skin color?

America paid money for painted stones called pet rocks, cringed at- then loved rock and roll, accepted the world oil shortages in the 1970's, elected Reagan twice, a Bush three times, turned Rap music into the melody of Madison Avenue and advertising; and believed that Saddam brought down the towers- so I now no longer put anything beyond the power of definition.