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CHAPTER ONE AGAIN

A BRIEF HISTORY OF POST-MODERNISM

DURING THE 1960’S AND 1970’S POLYTHEISM MADE ITS PRESENCE KNOWN.

PEOPLE INCORRECTLY SAW THE NEAR-PERFECT DEITY AS THEIR VERY

IMPERFECT UNDERSTANDING OF IT, I’LL CALL “POLLY.” BURDENED AND

OVERWHELMED, NEAR-PERFECT MONOTHEISM WAS ANXIOUSLY AWAITING

THIS DAY. HOWEVER, PEOPLE ALSO INCORRECTLY SAW IT’S DEITIFIC NEAR-

PERFECTION AS THEIR VERY IMPERFECT UNDERSTANDING OF IT; I’LL CALL

“MON.” POLLY SOUGHT ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE, SOMETIMES PEACEABLY,

SOMETIMES MISBEHAVING. MON RELIED ON ITS TRADITIONAL PENCHANT

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FOR WAR. IN ANGER, BUT SUSPECTING THAT POLLY WAS RIGHT, MON

SOUGHT ITS SWORD, NOW FLACCID FROM DOUBT AND USED IT TO WHIP

POLLY. MON WAS TOO STUPID, SELF-CENTERED AND ENTRENCHED TO SEE

THAT THE LOVING ACCEPTANCE OF POLLY WAS IN BOTH THEIR SELF-

INTERESTS. POLLY ATTEMPTED A RETREAT, BUT THE CAT WAS OUT OF THE

BAG AND THE BAG IS LOST IN THE WIND. THE IMPERFECT MUST DEAL

FAIRLY WITH EACH OTHER OR DIE. IT’S YOUR MOVE, MON. PUT YOUR

CURRENTLY USELESS SWORD DOWN A BIT AND USE YOUR LOUD MOUTH TO

SING. POLLY STILL HAS ONE GOOD EAR LEFT AND LOVES MUSIC. THE END?

DEPENDS.

A BRIEFER HISTORY OF EVERYTHING AS CURRENTLY MANIFESTED. THEY

MET AT A PARTY EACH ATTENDED OUT OF A SENSE OF OBLIGATION,

HAVING NO INITIAL DESIRE TO GO. HE SAID SOMETHING HE THOUGHT

WITTY TO HER, WANTING TO BE LIKED (WTBL) AND SHE LAUGHED

UPROARIOUSLY WTBL. SHE SAID SOMETHING SHE CONSIDERED WITTY

WTBL AND HE LAUGHED UPROARIOUSLY WTBL. THE COUPLE WHO LIKED

AND INTRODUCED THEM LEFT, THINKING IT BETTER THAT THEY GET TO

KNOW EACH OTHER IN PRIVACY. THEY DROVE HOME TOGETHER, HE

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HER WITTICISM AND SHE TRYING TO

UNDERSTAND HIS.

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Small lettered and un-bold redundancy. Everyone in this world, except me, is crippled,

only they don’t know it. In the beginning was the WORD and we are advised that it became

flesh, at least according to a translation from the Aramaic monopolized by the few.

Improvements have come our way; now we still have WORD; but in infinite variety and flavors,

including eighty million new words, sixty different ways of displaying them, a plethora of fonts,

methods to incorporate pictures, etc., etc. The possibilities have become endless; at least as far as

I can calculate eighty million times eighty million times eighty million, on and on. So many new

ways to tell the story.

WORDS DON’T COME

Marie

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Marie and “Marie” by Randy Newman; property of the author, the latter under both the “fair use”

and “transformative” doctrines.

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Abby’s Kitten

Isaac had never discussed his recent phone call from

Abigail with anyone. She had specifically asked him to keep it a

secret, though half of it had to have been previously known by

the entire family, excepting him. Abby was upset over how quiet

the house had gotten with him gone and Mark off at school. She

used to sometimes wish for quiet, but now that her wish had been

granted, she’d learned to be more careful about what she wished

for, at times making an attempt to circumvent mistakes by a wish

for infinite do-overs.

Abby said that when Mom came home from work she’d just flop

on the couch near the two storied window and listlessly stare

through it, her dog-eared, but presently un-opened paperback

copy of “The Great Gatsby” at her side, to which Isaac responded

by saying that he had his copy of “Robinson Crusoe” for exactly

the same reason, then attempting some feeble, interrupted joke

about not getting everything done by Friday. Abby burst through

the yarn, no longer able to restrain excitedly saying that she

had gotten a kitten, which she had named Ball as in ballistic,

as he was such a scamp, with so much energy, and explosive

physical ability that he hopped all the way from the floor to

the top of the refrigerator, then got too curious looking at the

space in the back, fell right in there, and started howling like

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a mumbo-jumboed fantod, and since this had happened right after

she had come home from school, she had to wait three more long

hours for mom to get home as she couldn’t move the refrigerator

by herself. Ball’s head would appear at the side edge spaces,

but it was already too big to fit through the spaces, left and

right, sporting only an inch of leeway, because of the efficient

standardization of appliance sizes and the caves designed to

hold them.

At first Abby was thrilled to see Ball’s head, as she took

it as an indication that he was all right, but in a few minutes

settled back into the scary possibility that only his head was

all right, and that it was very possible that his unseen body

was bleeding to death, as a refrigerator behind contains many

wires and possibly impaling type things which were exposed for

some stupid reason cat-less designers could not imagine. Like,

duh.

But, he really was all right, because when mom got there we

slid the thing a crooked foot and Ball came running out, and

while I was so happy to see that I wanted to pick him up and

cuddle him forever, he ran right by me, and went to his dishes

for food and water first. He allowed cuddling after that, but

you know, after all that, he wasn’t the least bit scared, as an

hour later I found him on top of the refrigerator again, looking

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down into the hole. He does that a lot, and I pull him off

whenever I catch him.

“He’s a leaper, and is now racing around the house, as if

it was the great wide open plains, galloping, spinning, leaping

for the sheer joy of the run itself. I can’t think of much on

this earth that is more fun than a new kitten. He’s soft and

funny and acrobatic; make that ‘acrocatic.’ And he won’t be a

kitten forever. You’ve got to get back quickly to see this.”

Isaac sincerely hoped that he would; then returned to

“Robinson” and his tiny window.

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**5**

Highway

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Highway and “Highway 61 Revisited” by Bob Dylan; property of the author, the latter under both

the “fair use” and “transformative” doctrines.

News - 5-6-22

Tuna Publications

as covertly authorized by “Fortune Magazine”

May 6, 2022

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The Russian Bank with Ties to Bailey Post Rumpole

Whatever degree of truth there is behind the alleged link

between Bailey Post Rumpole’s “Rumpole Organization” server

Conan, sometimes referred to as “Country One” and the Russian

financial firm Alfa Bank’s server, the largest surprise is

that Alfa’s server’s name has not yet appeared in the US’

most kitschy narratives of 2022. Rumors from disreputable

undisclosed sources have said it is Lupe Velez sometimes

referred to as “Cunny Two;” whose US attorney, Michael

Havasnotti has declined all comment, other than to remind

everyone that he’s planning on running for President, that to

the best of his knowledge none of his clients ever have been

undocumented aliens or otherwise agents of hostile foreign

powers, and that the matter will be officially announced as

soon as his domestic violence probation has lapsed. In the

meantime scurrilous Enquirer articles have published overhead

and allegedly un-doctored photographs of Harold and Lupe

engaged in computer generated acts forbidden to be mentioned

here at Tuna. Suffice to say that CyberJohn is no longer the

Baptist, deferring to CyberJoan.

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Finally on Monday, our esteemed colleagues at RedApeButt.com

published a story about lengthy and un-natural communications

between a server hosting Rumpole Organization domain

addresses and a server bearing the same shifting ISP

addresses as one owned by Alfa Bank. Cyber security firm

RadiantBytes, a wholly owned subsidiary of TechEye Inc., said

that there was no conclusive evidence of “substantive contact

or collusion between the two, according to RedApeButt. But

even if there were, Alfa Bank would make a very strange

conduit for illicit traffic between Rumpole and his favorite

foreign leader.

The pedestrian Western response to the news has been to ask;

“How close is Alfa to Rasputin?” The more pomo’d or fomo’d

group collectively intoned; “To what degree are ‘Alfa’ and

‘my meta mental image of Russia as an implacably hostile,

anti-American force’ interchangeable?”

The simple answers are; “Not very and depends whether or not

your shrink is into Hegel.” Alfa was founded and is

controlled by one of the most successful, western-oriented,

hard-edged capitalists in Russia. None of its key members are

on either the US or European sanctions lists, and the bank

has in any case been run at a respectable arm’s length from

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the corporate chicanery its owners have engaged in and spent

modest prison terms for elsewhere. Its founder, Mikhail

Fridman, has now largely cut his links with the country where

he made his billions. He has applied for permanent residency

in the UK, and said last July that he intends to invest most of what he made selling his share of oil company Think-BP in

US healthcare stocks; well beyond the reach of any Russian

leader or policeman. “Codger care is a safe, growing market

in urbane countries,” he is quoted as saying. Of course, in

the interest of fair reporting, he actually said; “Чудак

Care-это безопасный, растущий рынок в городских странах, Если

дополняют похоронные дома и Medicare.” We thank our crack

translator, Ivan Putsky.

The most salient indication of the expanse between Country

One-Cunny Two, Alfa-Rump, Harold-Lupe, Russia-Ukraine,

Fridman-Rasputin, Alfa-Kremlin et al, including but not

limited to fleeting Mueller-Whitaker considerations is the

fact that its businesses in Ukraine are flourishing, even

though the two countries are involved in a war. With each

other! More or less. Fridman was born in Lviv in western

Ukraine. While the branches of Kremlin-controlled VTB have

had their windows smashed, Alfa Bank Ukraine is expanding its

market share, and more importantly have not had to incur

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glazier or sweeping expenses. As a result of the savings, it

just bought the Ukrainian assets of Italy’s Unicredit.

Fridman publicly thanked the Ukrainian “protestors,” who

later denied being on Fridman’s side. When asked whose side

they were on, spokesperson Larisa Upchucky said; “It’s hard

to tell sometimes. Mostly we just like to get messed up on

Horilka and break things, figuring we have a 50% chance of

being right.”

But Alfa’s success owes at least as much to its political

clout in Moscow as to its business acumen. Over the years

Alfa has come out on top in bitter power struggles even with

people closely linked to Vladimir Rasputin. It successfully

defended its telecoms empire against Leonid Reiman,

Rasputin’s communications minister, who ultimately left the

government after a string of disclosures about his links to

an offshore company. Even when, in 2013, it could not keep

hold of its stake in the oil company Think-BP, it extracted a

full price from the Kremlin’s energy boss, notoriously

unkempt Igor Frankenfishsky; and in cash, at the bottom of the cycle.

Alfa’s success also has its foul side. It dragged Telenor

ASA, its Norwegian partner in Vimpelcom, through the Russian

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and Ukrainian courts, in an attempt to force it to accept a

strategy that involved buying other Alfa controlled assets at

inflated prices as per written agreement. And when

Vimpelcom’s use of suspect payments to gain market share in

Uzbekistan was exposed, it was Telenor man Jo Lunder who took

the rap, rather than any of Alfa’s people.

During the days of the Think-BP joint venture, BP staff in

Moscow often privately suspected that the harassment they got

from Russian officials was instigated by the partner they had

hoped would protect them. BP Chairman Peter Sutherland once

publicly accused them of manipulation, only to be publicly humiliated as a Fish Eating Meatball. The use of billion

dollar lawsuits to apply pressure on Alfa’s partners; filed

in remote regions of Russia by obscure private shareholders

whose interests somehow overlapped perfectly with Alfa’s

became a typical modus operandi.

Alfa may have been close enough to the Russian state to

manipulate it on many occasions, but it has never trusted it,

nor been trusted by it.

One former employee of the bank recalls a ceremony 10 years

back at which Fridman’s partner Pyotr Aven, a deputy prime

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minister who has headed the group’s government relations, was

due to receive an award from Rasputin. The awkward exchange

went as follows:

Rasputin: “Remind me, why am I giving this to you?”

Aven: “Because I haven’t done anything you can put me in jail

for.”

Rasputin: “No, not yet.”

By a curious coincidence, even before the leak regarding

Rumpole’s alleged connection to the bank, Aven has recently

been in the news himself. Last year, Aven had invited

Rasputin’s former press minister and propagandist-in-chief

Mikhail Lesin to Washington DC on the night that Lesin died a

suspicious death. Aven was due to collect an award from the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in

recognition of his “Corporate Citizenship” and his

contribution to US - Russian relations.

US prosecutors last week closed the Lesin case, attributing it to a drunken fall. The city’s medical examiner had

attributed it to blunt trauma to the blunt head, neck, limbs,

and torso.

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Chant

His movements were irregular as if in his head he was

hearing and following the sound of Charlie Parker playing early

“Cherokee Warrior” while using his later flats. He began

chanting like a Haitian possessed by the spirit.

“Hello. ... My friends! ... My name ... is Bit’aa’ni. ... I

am. ... of The Folder Arms People ... Clan, born for The Red-

Running-Into-Water Clan. ... The Bitter ... Water Clan are my

maternal grandfather's clan ... and The Tangle People are my

paternal grandfather's clan. .......... You can ... call me

Bitty. ... I’m Navajo. Please pardon me. Here we go. Sedentary

mice flammed the focal entry flap to the place the twelve

partitioned proditious enormity resided. In nostalgic

desperation, the bio of Metal Man peeped its square face toward

the six. Not quite, but a start.

No new land provides no new respite for the children of the

elk. Nor the children of the corn. Nor the children of the

spook. Nor the children. It is complete; save the few. They have

taken their silence away. Away at last, the folder arms are

left, not out of their unchosen choice, but out of innafs long

ago planted in the time of the selective giants.

They have painted demonic pictures on the fertile green and

have made them abundant in their hiding places. This offering in

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my hands, my pockets, and my nutbean-mound is not the first; yet

it is the last gift from the many-named one. The delta it

invokes and at the same time dishonors is a coolybrish negroid

meeting of the true Tribes. In the least of winds, the waves

come in in bold white caps which kiss the shore, then disappear.

How much more will be seen in the great wind to come?”

Speed. ....... Speed? ....... Einstein for you. ......

Relativity? ......... Fine, insofar as it goes. Relative to

what?

A constant. A stillness. Something which doesn’t evolve.

Something which remains the same.

Where are such things?

In the mans’ breechcloth?

For you in the moment of your jingle dress.

Metaphor intended.

Faith leaped.

Truth.

Biased.

Any other kind available for sale?

Conveniently answers its own question.

Which was?

Blue is a color which will always was and which always will

be. Much like yellow, it is difficult to pinpoint, and therefore

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even more difficult to draw inferences from. Dangerous. Few are

skilled in the proper use of a prism. In the days of Mesa Coyote

and his lost tribe, it was the rule that pathos equalled jest.

Brisfallus, brisfallus, you see. It was made two. Look!

It’s obvious. To crave one is to crave death. To have reasoning

for one is to crave death. To be deluded by the business of

preachership is to crave the flood. To be communal sectares the

land. Me and my family can now make the debt gone. Naashgali

Dine’e and his Mescal warriors now mistakenly fear us. They know

their power comes only from the green. The green comes from the

earth, and try as they will, they cannot stop it. They can only

blind the already lame.

It was foreseen by Mor’ in’ e, in the tradition of her

Touch Many Hands tribe that all would reverse. South would

become North, just as it was before the first shift at the end

of the first age. It is but a matter of a match igniting the

ready and dry wood. Until that day we are condemned to the green

defiled by the Cyclops.

Approach the pure and dense period of alteration. The

elders relate their faulty sympathy, yet they are elders. A

weathered Dine skin-walker could fix the circle again. Seasons

are now backward, yet we still fear a real break. Dine could be

mad, and return your nafs to the solid spirit grace, with music

from afar. We have tasted the fruit of man and made infinite

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clones, losing all but Rolex shams, valuing sums to nowhere. The

hands meet on top and a moondrop surges. It can elevate us like

an Orphic lyre, taking away the plain plane. My dear friends and

protectors, ultimately you choose the passageway. End, corner

not right; the dammed falls of the river. Broke through just

before the false revolutions of the straw, hands extended to the

shade of the blue. Circulated around a brief infatuation for the

hillside howlers, un-clothed in mornings in which light was

denied. Finally relaxing into the time we used to worry, yet

sending each of the variations into the damp shadows of ancient

rhyme we release the burden and learn the master's name.

Downstairs at the wind-up, close to the landing, a river.

Seasons uncaringly bypass. Up. Down. It's over. You’re un-

abridged.

An image of the Cyclopean Sun speared, my shell convinced,

in the eclipse of the older moon, deceivingly replaced by the

younger reached through harmless fancy. Manna from above

compounds. I killed my disgust and seized the word in my hand.

Remains only you, the calculator’s time, the calculator’s logic,

the motives we don't respect or comprehend. Melancholy

resolution took the wounded static. Armored vans took the road

by the sea. From the cord, it has been licensed to those with

the green. The details we pretend to understand, will be

disproved, down at the edge.

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Cause specific takes away the frightened recall. The

journey smiles as if otherwise; after it has once more stopped

before going all the way; as if it stupidly thought that it

diverged from any reality that you've ever seen and known.

Deducing glitches only to betray their mention. Leaving paths

that end halfway into the annulled. As we cross from north to

south, we hear the complete heap record. Beified at the edge.

Flavors will depart. You turn up. You turn down.

The white shawl sadly looks; ashamed for the crucifixion of

her sphere. Eight billion sheep just placate. Two one cry, too

late. Specks of honesty cannot reach. She’d flooshey say it was

wonder of her own. Billions are daily deluded. Only compound

interest could be placed on the children. I get up, I get down.

To what am I slave? No, he sees the femlens twins. His eyes

blinded, he feels his way. In what day does he come of age? I

get up. I get down.

Aladdin’s rusted compass blade split the seasons. Water

poured. Spaces between our houses were boned. Music wed the

colors to the visions. The red sky smashed the two. Space

focussed form. Chirruping wind cast its spell of forgotten

communal gathering upstairs. Open to space; who wheeled and

directed, exposing each side? Piercing orbs smirked gossip,

beholding itself only. Mounted we see peace in the vale and the

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ghostly phases of the past, through roads manifesting complete

sun. When whole, you get down.

The controller arms meet at top. The twelve is heard only

by the moon. The dew explodes from its veiling place, now Owsley

in the cradle. Madman and reason join the treetop fowl. Four

winds move five silver grazes in spring, no footprints in the

hardened sand. Walk with me on the beach. The tide is way out.

You’ll shortly be two and want to know the way of the wind. It

is not said on the plot that Dibe hides at the rear of the timer

at the CGS. The four winds sit at the Cardinal Gate Scheme; two

gates locked and spaces barred. One lets you in and the other

echoes it. In vile glare and suggestion that other’s just a

replica. The noble, fluid, eternal incandescence or the

luminescence? The controller arms meet at top. Moon once more

explodes. Miss Dibe and Beloved are together at CGS. Dark clouds

rumble in. Bleakly meet Spell, but soon came me. My name is Lot,

infinite incandescence. The Holes of Hell are marked in granite,

my hound. When whole, you get down. Stars, stars, STARS.”

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**6**

Abigail’s Visit to CountryReport.com

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Syria

Syria is a shithole country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon,

the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. It

seems unfair how some are mandated for trouble. A country of

fertile plains, high mountains, deserts, and drone bombed ruins,

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Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups. Those in

ISIS thug controlled sections tend strongly toward strict

adherence to fundamentalist Sunni doctrines. Syria was suspended

from the Arab League in 2011 and the Organization of Islamic

Cooperation, and apparently thinking WTF, self-suspended itself

from the Union for the Mediterranean.

Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest

continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the Islamic era,

Damascus is a provincial capital of the Mamaluk Sultanate in

Egypt, whatever that means. It gained de-jure independence as a

parliamentary republic on October 24, 1945 when the Republic of

Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended their prior classification of “Camel

Cruncher.” The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a

large number of military coups and coup attempts shook the country from 1949 to 1971; the ostensible prize being the

control of the local camel and camel poo markets. 1971 marked

the introduction of yaks and yak poo, and a short lived Syrian

hiatus from economically based hostilities.

Chief exports – Unshaven, violent jihadists, yaks and related

yak poo; Sharia Law, camels and related camel poo.

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Chief imports - Small arms, chainsaws, and sound amplification

systems.

Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively

suspending most constitutional protections for citizens. Since

March 2011 Syria has been embroiled in an armed conflict with a

shifting number of countries in the region. Syria is ranked last

on the Global Peace Index, making it the most violent country in

the world, no doubt a factor considered by rumored native US

President Barack Obomber when he gave nukes to neighboring Iran,

ostensibly a respectable 133 of 163 on the index, and actually

ahead of Israel, perhaps hoping they’d put Syria out of its

misery. It is said that life, as it were, continues normally for

most of its citizens as of December 2021.

History - Ancient

Full figured female figurine, 5000 BC. Ancient Orient Museum.

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God head, the kingdom of Yamhad, ca. 1600 BC.

Things began a sharp decline shortly after a jihadist broke

God’s nose and made women wear clothing, circa 1600 BC. A

rebound was not noted until unsigned collages of McDonald’s toys

began to mysteriously appear in the butts of AK-47’s much later.

The rolled up post-Cubist inspired Dadaism presages the later

work of Andre Breton in spirit.

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Syrian Dadaist collage, the top left congealed fries bag reflecting the Syrian “eye for a nose”

religious code of ethics.

Ebla royal palace c. 2400 BC; please note the lack of windows, an ingenious adaptation to rock

chuckers.

Armpit Phoenician Temple, ca.1400 BC

Wars began their perpetual existence with various groups with

weak leaders and the usual stuff like that taking over, then

getting wiped out, yadda yadda as one might expect. If desired,

a more complete list of the banality may be found on Wikipedia

under “Syria; a 760 MB compendium of the War Years.”

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An ancient city before one of the wars.

An ancient city after one of the wars.

History - Middle Ages

Muhammad’s first interaction with the people and tribes of Syria

was during his invasion of Dumatul Jandal in July 626. William

Montgomery Watt, Scottish historian, Orientalist, Anglican priest, and academic

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William Montgomery Watt; property of the author.

More virile Muhammad with multiple snakes; property of the author.

claims that this was the most significant expedition Muhammad

ordered at the time, even though it received little notice in

the primary on-line sources. Watt says that “there was no

immediate threat to Muhammad,” and adds; "It is tempting to

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suppose that Muhammad was already envisaging something of the

expansion which took place after his death."

Umayyad fresco, said to depict Muhammad, from Qasr al-Sham al-Feign, made in the early 7th

century.

By AD 640, Syria was conquered by the Arab Rashidun army led by

Khalid ibn al-Walid, the rhyming his mother’s fault for getting married. The country's power declined during later Umayyad rule.

This was mainly due to totalitarianism, corruption and the

resulting revolutions. Yadda yadda again. The Umayyad dynasty

was then overthrown in 750 by the Abbasid dynasty, add the two

“Y” words.

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The 1299 Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar. The Mongols under Ghazan defeated the Mamaluks, their head backs swiftly palm smacked.

.

Defying the agonies of defeat, the Mamaluks made a comeback. For

details please see “Mamaluk” in Wikipedia or the Urban

Dictionary.

Ottoman Syria

1803 Cedid Atlas, showing Ottoman Syria labelled as "Al Sham." A blow-up is suggested.

In 1516, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamaluk Sultanate of Egypt, conquering Syria, and incorporating it into its empire.

The Ottoman system was not burdensome to Syrians because the

Turks respected Arabic as the language of the Quran, and

accepted the mantle of defenders of the faith. Minority opinions

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suggest that this could also have been the case because Syrians

were accustomed to being conquered and didn’t pay any attention

to the particular conqueror temporarily in place. Damascus was

made the major port for Mecca, and as such it acquired a holy

character to Muslims, because of the beneficial results of the

countless pilgrims who passed through on the hajj, the

pilgrimage to Mecca. However, the Ottoman tolerance of all

religions including Judaism eventually pissed off the Muslims,

and yadda yadda yadda into the 20th century, and as an act of

appeasement during their wipe-out in WWI the Ottomans found it

to their benefit to slaughter or deport all the Christians.

Deportees of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Syrian rebels in Ghouta during the Great Syrian Revolt against French colonial rule in the 1920’s.

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In 1925, Sultan al-Atrash led a revolt that broke out in the

Druze Mountains and spread etc., etc., etc.

Independent Syrian Republic; Autos

Aleppo with Peugeot in 1961

By 1961, thanks to expansive General Motors Credit Corporation,

autos replaced yaks and camels as the vehicle of choice. This

also proved to be an economic boom by Syrian standards, as they

were now able to eat their former means of transportation. But,

despite the sudden shot in the arm, upheaval dominated Syrian

politics from independence through the late 1960s. In May 1962,

Syrian forces invaded Palestine, and immediately attacked Jewish

settlements. Their president Shukri al-Quwwatli instructed his troops in the front, “to destroy the Zionists." Coup, coup,

coups followed.

When “The Six Day War” broke out between Egypt and Israel, Syria

joined the war and, largely un-noticed, attacked Israel as well.

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In the final days of the war, Israel turned its attention to

Syria, capturing two-thirds of the Golan Heights in under 48

hours, which is partially attributed to the primary Syrian

militarily offensive penchant to drive their western autos

backward; as seen on cool, Saturday afternoon, western

Demolition Derby shows during jihads.

On October 6, 1973, Syria and Egypt initiated the Yom Kippur War

against Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces reversed the initial Syrian gains and pushed deep into Syrian territory. In early

1976, Syria entered Lebanon, beginning the thirty year Syrian

military occupation.

In the late 1970s, an Islamist uprising by the Muslim

Brotherhood was aimed against the government. Islamists attacked civilians and off-duty military personnel, leading security

forces to also kill civilians in retaliatory strikes. The

uprising had reached its climax in the 1982 Hama massacre, when

some 10,000 – 40,000 people were killed by regular Syrian Army

troops.

In a major shift in relations with both other Arab states and the Western world, Syria participated in the US-led Gulf War

against Saddam Hussein, as without such participation Syria had

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no one else to fight with at the time. Shifting sides and sands

are of no consequence. After that they were part of various

“peace conferences,” the other attendees mistaken in their

belief that Syria actually was desirous of what the others

foolishly called “peaceful progress.” Some attribute the

confusion to the fact that translators might not have been top

notch, in being unaware that the Syrian word for “progress”

actually can and usually does mean “all-skull bash.”

On October 5, 2003, Israel bombed a site near Damascus, claiming

it was a terrorist training facility for members of Islamic

Jihad. On September 6, 2007, foreign jet fighters, suspected as

Israeli, reportedly carried out Operation Orchard against a

suspected nuclear reactor under construction by North Korean

technicians.

Syrian Civil War

As tiresome as this may be for all non-Syrians; since we’ve come

this far it behooves us to take one more step into the continued

Syrian struggles, and be more or less up to date.

As far as anyone can differentiate it from “normal” life in

Syria, the civil war officially began in 2011 as a chain of

peaceful protests, followed by a crackdown by the Syrian Army.

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In July 2011, Army defectors declared the formation of the Free

Syrian Army and began forming fighting units. The opposition was

dominated by Sunni Muslims, whereas the leading government

figures were generally associated with Alawites; basically

Shiites. To escape the violence, 4.9 million Syrian refugees

have fled to neighboring countries, saying “enough is enough.”

By October 2017, an estimated 400,000 people had been killed in

the war.

Geography

The Mediterranean Sea, as viewed from the coastal city of Latakia.

Syria consists mostly of arid plateau, although the northwest

part of the country bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green.

The climate in Syria is dry and hot, giving the persistent

greens absolute fits.

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Ayn al-Bayda, Latakia, a village in Northern Syria.

Politics and government

Ineffective and/or non-existent. If there is any semblance of

centralization, it lies in a confluence of approximately 400

Ayatollahs. There is no agreement between them, and at any given

time there are 4,000 different fatwahs in effect. Based on their

learned interpretations of the Quran, and if necessary the Old

Testament each call for the extermination or banishment of

certain groups or people, often the other Ayatollahs.

Human rights

Someone must have a morbid sense of humor to even consider this

in regard to Syria.

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Wounded and dead citizens arrive at a care facility in Aleppo, after having called in sick to the

afternoon prayer vigil.

The authorities are accused of arresting democracy and human

rights activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and

imposing travel bans. Arbitrary detention, torture, and

disappearances are widespread. The Sunni Muslims do their best

to compete.

Foreign relations

None which couldn’t be described as ballistic.

Economy

Rich Syrian’s vulgar display of wealth.

Severed infidel heads became the primary “coin of the realm” in

1991, the whiter the head the higher the value. After suffering

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relentlessly changing regimes and relentlessly worthless new

currencies, the people insisted upon something which was

relatively small and would keep its value; settling on heads.

Think of it like Bitcoin with a growing supply. Severed penises

are used to make change.

Tourism in Syria

Abductees represent the entirety of human visitors from

elsewhere. Some camels and yaks have crossed the border.

Outlook

Routine mayhem and political instability pose a significant

threat to future economic development.

Syria's yak, camel, and related poo industries have been

devastated, as Syrians ate most of them with the advent of

autos, which the Syrians have become adept at using to whack

anyone who gets in their way. In May 2015, ISIS captured Syria's

bat guano mines, one of the Syrian government’s last sources of

food, and Ayatollah Ali al-Sistrabo, issued an immediate fatwah

on Ozzie Osborne.

Water supply and sanitation

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Syria is a semiarid country with scarce water resources. A big

challenge is its high public dead body cleanup requirements,

partially due to a hose and spigot shortage, caused by vandalism

and pilfering.

Demographics

In what the UN has described as "the biggest humanitarian

emergency of our era", about 4.9 million Syrians, half the

population, have been displaced since the outbreak of the Syrian

Civil War in March 2011. Two million are outside the country as killers for hire; cheap, and may be contacted through numerous

deep web sites. Syrians are supposedly an overall indigenous

Levantine people, closely related to their immediate neighbors, such as the Lebanese, Palestinians, Jordanians and Jews. Since they rarely behave like the others, existentialists and sundry

psychology students register disagreement. Syria was once home

to a substantial population of Jews, with large communities in

Damascus, Aleppo, and Qamishii. Due to opportunities elsewhere,

the Jews began to emigrate in the second half of the 19th

century to wherever they could get.

Culture

Syrians' taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances

such as the al-Smash, the Bojovat in all its variations, and the

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sword dance. Writers, all of whom migrated to Egypt, played a

crucial role in the Arab literary and cultural revival of the

19th century. Renewed censorship, fatwahs, and kidnappings have

been a deterrent since. The music scene, in particular that of

Damascus, has long been among the Arab world's most important

sources of popular contemporary hatred. Television was first introduced to Syria in 2006 through theft. It broadcast in black

and white until 2011, when ISIS confiscated the TV’s during

their ritualized lootings, saying that the images were a sin

against Allah. It is suspected that most became inoperable

through stonings when the Sunday morning evangelicals were on.

Syria's would be artists, poets, writers and activists have

remained incarcerated. The most popular sports in Syria are head

rolling, yak and camel handicapped racing, and demolition derby;

the latter a world-class event due to a well-practiced Syrian

ability to drive backward.

Mating Rituals

Little boys grow to be little men.

Education

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Damascus University

Education is compulsory from ages 6 to 12. Schools are run by

clerical gangsters who supply the books which teach that the

white man is the devil, under grants from the Saudi Royal

Family. This is followed by a three year training period in

which the child can major in a myriad of subjects chosen by his

Ayatollah, ranging from Export Jihadism, to Advanced Extortion,

to Explosives. The illiteracy rate of Syrians aged 15 and older is 90.7% for males and 82.2% for females; though in fairness it

is appropriate to point out that reading and writing has never

been a Syrian priority.

Health

In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for .2% of the

country's GDP. In 2018, there were 14 physicians, 18 nurses, and

74 midwives in the country, all increases over the prior years.

Diseases epidemic and co-morbid with malnutrition include but

are not limited to trichomoniasis, malaria, intestinal

parasites, shistosomiasis, tuberculosis, AIDS, asthma,

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cardiovascular disease, obstetrical fistula, leprosy, and facial

ringworm. The life expectancy at birth was 25.7 years in 2010,

or 24.2 years for males and 27.3 years for females, which is

attributed to continued discrimination against women in the

field of suicide bombing.

Syria today, and most any day; property of the author.

Dead End Street; property of the author.

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Abby did a copy-paste of the information, perhaps too

dismissively thinking it as accurate as any. Any revisions would

be tedious exercises which would take time away from her spell

getting high with gorgeous Crosstown Bobby Bolano. Besides, it

was out and out archaic in general and cruel in the Syrian

particular for Old Mr. Divak to have assigned this for extra

credit. Abby didn’t feel that she needed any such honor, and you

know that damn Crosstown has to be watched like a hawk, as “The

C Man” had a way of “changing” with every turn of the tongue-

and-grooved wooden wheel.

Flight of Fancy

Having made the expected, rookie-mid-season error of

picking up a Gaddis book, “J.R.” the case at the covered airport

literary establishment, which, the book that is, as opposed to

the garish kiosk which “housed” it, “artfully” establishes the

hellacious, mercenary faults, these in particular for those

still curious as to the J.R. emblematic of the “oh-so-sad,” as

currently interpreted in apparent disregard of the proven

economic failure of communism, the monopolistic capitalistic

effects upon an innocent whom the wicked and clandestine profit-

mongers have colluded, conspired, and were that not sufficiently

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evil, have also collectively, conspiratorially, counter-

intuitively, and mercilessly conjuctively, not to make less of

any substruct through an order dictated collectively,

conspiratorially, counter-intuitively, and mercilessly

conjuctively, not to make less of, yadda yadda of choice herein

inserted intending participation; and the implied supposition of

that designed-or-not-by those purposefully inclined, or in the

best dismissive avoidance of the sad diatribes of irrelevantly

time consuming “true believers,” too obviously naïve or clever

players of games in which one would like to believe; or those to

encourage an American vision, ultimately briefly extrapolated in

the bumper sticker handouts, in a little J.R. expansion, to

disastrously be, only and minimally twenty years after the US

was Levittowned; this particular purchase humongously more

likely indiscriminate of ideological issues or their more or

less, depending, time shiftless and thereby sneakily time

shiftful counterpart evaluations of a flaw, arguably primary, as

suggested through rudimentary 21st century net-enabability, as

rendered by skimmers, scammers, schemers, and scummers; though

despite the overwhelming considerations best not detailed in

fear of running out of space, can more or less be fairly

characterized as more or less compatible with what is ultimately

the result of a “special-two-day-discount,” capable of

attracting the attention of a goyish noodnik. Truly non-plussed,

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though plussed in the effects generated by burnt bulb,

electrical contractor malfeasance, this time displayed through

the flashing neon guilt “successfully” conveyed through an

invisible-at-daytime crackle and fade, that lazily and

personally taken in possibly admitted error as merely another

confirmation of the skimmed “banal” reasonably expected, the

result of which Mark, not really, but debatably out $7.99 plus

tax on his father’s plastic read some of the information that

his father had freely put on his computer during his one

stopover flight (Mark’s) back to Gig Harbor, primarily as a

subterfuge designed to discourage the rude advances of just

about commonly seated illiterates, inside, out, or middle; a

possible concern for those happily consigned to study. The

detail, symbolically taken, was far from a revelation, but at

least it didn’t seem totes stupid upon first viewing, and the

price was most attractively right, metaphorically mixed to wit

or not.

In the absence of this seeming dis-satisfaction, one is

relegated to the dreamy innacuracies, all too well and often, if

not well, provided by the skimming, “reviewing” practitioners,

condemned to ability-biased results, yet still in search of a

personally derivative market which minimally exists, has

possibly never existed, and likely will never exist.

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Irgun Terrorism

Some definitions; yes definitions. You’ll all say that you know

them already, while few discourses demonstrate that.

1) Jewish - Of or relating to the Jews or their culture or

religion.

2) Jew - a member of the people and cultural community whose

traditional religion is Judaism and who trace their origins

through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel to Abraham.

3) Judaism - the monotheistic religion of the Jews.

4) Zionism - a movement originally for the re-establishment and

now the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is

now Israel.

5) Semite - a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a

Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.

6) Anti-Zionism - is opposition to Zionism. The term is broadly

defined in the modern era as the opposition to the ethno-

nationalist and political movement of Jews and Jewish culture

that supports the establishment of a Jewish state as a Jewish

homeland in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel

(also referred to as Palestine, Canaan, or the Holy Land). Anti-

Zionism is also defined as opposition to the State of Israel.

The term is used to describe various religious, moral and

political points of view, but their diversity of motivation and

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expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot

be seen as having a single ideology or source.

7) Anti-Semitism - hostility toward or discrimination against

Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group.

Note - The above definitions were supplied by Merriam-Webster,

the standard source. However, the careful reader will surely

note the discrepancies, contradictions, and changes with time;

the latter regarding Zionism. This makes understanding of the

Khazar question unduly confounded. Jews are not an ethnic or

racial group, though legalities supposedly intended to be

helpful define them as such, no doubt contributing to the

unhelpful confusion. In addition a discrepancy exists in

defining Semite as basically a Jew or Arab, while the definition

of anti-Semitism is hostility or discrimination against Jews

only, that definition further characterizing Jews as a

religious, ethnic, or racial group.

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**7**

The Khazars

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Little is known of the Khazars, and the “knowledge” of that

which is supposed, commenced only fifty years ago, and is

refined with each new Khazarian excavation. It has been

estimated that anywhere from 18 to 28 distinct ethnically

diverse groups made up the population of the Khazar Qağanate,

aside from the ethnic elite. The ruling elite seem to have been

constituted out of nine tribes-clans, themselves ethnically

diverse, spread over perhaps nine provinces or principalities,

each of which would have been allocated to a clan. In terms of

caste or class, some evidence suggests that there was a

distinction, whether racial or social is unclear. It is

generally accepted that these nomadic bands were pagans until

the 8th century, when they adopted Judaism as the official

religion in the 11th century, at least at the elite level. The

precise centuries may be off by one in either direction,

depending on the “expert” currently being read. In the overall

scheme of things that matters little, but is stated here as an

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indication of the “precision” with which Khazar information is

presented as fact. They “disappeared” in the 11th or 12th, again

dependent upon meagerly informed source speculation.

Your guess is as good as mine as to where the Khazars went and

what they did there, also recognizing that some did not leave.

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Given their tribal, semi-nomadic nature, it would seem likely

that more than one place was involved. Perhaps in unstated

agreement with this, “expert” opinion varies. It is my

speculation that given supposed Khazarian warlike nature, as

opposed to the peaceful nature of True Jews who likely emanated

from BC Judea, the Khazarian, perhaps appropriately considered

the false-Jew, as opposed to those who observe, believe in, and

practice the teachings of the Torah, next clear reappearance was

in the Palestine of 1929, under the mantels of Irgun or Lehi,

and they were generally Zionist, though as used here, the latter

term is more a condescension to current parlance than it is a

representation over time.

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Irgun and Lehi

Jumping ahead or behind, the actions of those above mentioned

are consistent with the invention of terrorism and the desire to

make a land claim at the expense of the innocent and beleaguered

True Jews. It is documentable that those who participated in the

acts of terror evolved to become Israel’s highest officials,

Zohar Ben-Yahu the current manifestation. Further, the previous;

often all too “conveniently” bogged down in the flip-flop

between secular pragmatisms and religious principles is now

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extending itself into the Ukraine, at the risk of WWIII and

further sacrifice of True Jews.

The Israelites

The Israelites were a confederation of Iron Age Semitic-speaking

tribes of the ancient Near East, who inhabited a part of Canaan

during the tribal and monarchic periods. According to the

religious narrative of the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites' origin

is traced back to the Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs Abraham

and his wife Sarah, through their son Isaac and his wife

Rebecca, and their son Jacob who was later called Israel, from

whence they derive their name, with his wives Leah and Rachel.

The Israelites and their culture, according to the modern

archaeological account, did not overtake the region by force,

but instead branched out of the indigenous Canaanite peoples

that long inhabited the Southern Levant, Syria, ancient Israel,

and the Transjordan region through the development of a distinct

monotheistic religion centered on Yahweh, one of the Ancient

Canaanite deities. The outgrowth of Yahweh-centric belief, along

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with a number of cultic practices, gradually gave rise to a

distinct Israelite ethnic group, setting them apart from other

Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible the term Israelites is used interchangeably with the term “Twelve Tribes of Israel. ”

Although related, the terms Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews are not interchangeable in all instances. "Israelites" (Yisraelim)

refers specifically to the direct descendants of any of the sons

of the patriarch Jacob (later called Israel), and his descendants as a people are also collectively called "Israel",

including converts to their faith in worship of the god of

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Israel, Yahweh. "Hebrews" (Ivrim), on the contrary, is used to

denote the Israelites' immediate forebears who dwelt in the land

of Canaan, the Israelites themselves, and the Israelites'

ancient and modern descendants (including Jews and Samaritans).

"Jews" (Yehudim) is used to denote the descendants of the

Israelites who coalesced when the Tribe of Judah absorbed the remnants of various other Israelite tribes. Thus, for instance,

Abraham was a Hebrew but he was not technically an Israelite nor

a Jew, Jacob was both a Hebrew and the first Israelite but not a

Jew, while David (as a member of the Tribe of Judah) was all

three, a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a Judahite (Yehudi, Jew). A

Samaritan, on the contrary, while being both a Hebrew and an

Israelite, is not a Jew.

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Less Fantastical Flights

Irgun Terrorism (eventually continued and arguably on-topic)

Irgun symbol; property of the author

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Slow; the kind courtesy of Pexels.com under their CC0 license; modified.

Irgun (Irgun Tsvai Leumi – "National Military Organization")

Notable commanders;

1) Menachem Begin

2) Avraham Jabotinsky (Ze’ev)

The Irgun; full title - Hā-ʾIrgun Ha-Tzvaʾī Ha-Leūmī b-Ērētz

Yiśrāʾel; "The National Military Organization in the Land of

Israel" was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in

Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of

the older and larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah

(Defense). When the group broke from the Haganah it became known

as the Haganah Bet, "Defense 'B' " or "Second Defense", or

alternatively as haHaganah haLeumit or Hama'amad. Irgun members

were absorbed into the Israel Defense Forces at the start of the

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1948 Arab–Israeli war. The Irgun is also referred to as Etzel, an acronym of the Hebrew initials, or by the abbreviation IZL.

The Irgun policy was based on what was then called Revisionist

Zionism, a faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious political right wing in

Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant

socialist Labor Zionism. Revisionism led to the development of

the Likud Party. It originated the notion that the purpose of

Zionism was the establishment of an expanded Jewish state on

both sides of the Jordan River in 1935. The region covered by

the British Mandate for Palestine included the modern day

territories of Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Jordan. The

Mandate allowed the mandatory authority, Britain, to restrict

Jewish settlement in parts of the territory. This was applied to

Transjordan, to the east of the River Jordan. Revisionist

Zionists believed this was illegitimate and demanded that the

whole mandate territory, not just its western portion, should be

part of a future Jewish state. After the establishment of

Israel, they did not recognize the existence of Jordan, and as

late as 1956, they rejected the possibility of peace.

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Area map; property of the author.

Founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the policy of the new organization was based squarely on Jabotinsky's teachings; that every Jew had

the right to enter Palestine; that only active retaliation would

deter the Arabs; and that only Jewish armed force would ensure

the Jewish state.

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Proceed With Caution; property of the author.

Two of the operations for which the Irgun is best known are the

bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on July 22, 1946

and the Deir Yassin massacre, carried out together with the Lehi

Group on April 9, 1948.

As a result of the discovery of documents tying the Jewish

Agency to the Jewish Resistance Movement, the Irgun was asked by

the Haganah, (The Defense) which was another Jewish paramilitary

organization in the British Mandate of Palestine (1921–48), which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),

to speed up the plans for the King David Hotel bombing of July 22. The hotel was where the documents were located, the base for

the British Secretariat, the military command and a branch of

the Criminal Investigation Division of the police. The Irgun later claimed to have sent a warning that was ignored. 91 people

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were killed in the attack where a 350 kg bomb was placed in the

basement of the hotel and caused a large section of it to

collapse. 13 were British soldiers.

The Deir Yassin Massacre

The Deir Yassin massacre took place when approximately 120

fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi

attacked it, a Palestinian Arab village of roughly 600 people near Jerusalem. The assault occurred as Jewish militia sought to

relieve the blockade of Jerusalem during the civil war that

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preceded the end of British rule in Palestine, in which the Deir

Yassin people played no part, openly declaring their peaceful

stance.

According to un-named and biased Irgun sources, the village

guards felt surprised by "the Jews" entering their village at

night and opened fire on the Irgun force. It is customary to be

gracious to nocturnal, un-announced, enemies carrying weapons

and grenades. The village fell after fierce house-to-house

fighting. During and after the battle for the village, at least

107 Palestinians were killed, including women and children. Some

were shot, while others died when hand grenades were thrown into

their homes. Despite an original boast by the victors that 254

had been killed, Aref al-Aref, a Palestinian journalist,

historian and politician, counted 117 victims, 7 in combat and

the rest in their homes. According to a count conducted by

International Red Cross representative Jacques de Reynier, apart from bodies left lying in the streets, 150 corpses were found in

one cistern alone, among them people who had been either

decapitated or disemboweled. Israeli historian Benny Morris

wrote that there were also cases of mutilation and rape. Several

villagers were taken prisoner and may have been killed after

being paraded through the streets of West Jerusalem. Four of the

attackers were killed, with around 35 injured.

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The killings were condemned by the leadership of the Haganah;

the Jewish community's main paramilitary force, and by the

area's two chief rabbis. The Jewish Agency for Israel sent

Jordan's King Abdullah a letter of apology, which he rebuffed.

Abdullah held the Jewish Agency responsible for the massacre

because they were the head of Jewish affairs in Palestine, and

warned about "terrible consequences" if more incidents like that

occurred.

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The deaths became a pivotal event in the Arab–Israeli conflict

for their demographic and military consequences. The narrative

was embellished and used by various parties to attack each

other; by the Palestinians against Israel; by the Haganah to

play down their own role in the affair; and by the Israeli left

to accuse the Irgun and Lehi of blackening Israel's name by

violating the Jewish principle of purity of arms. News of the

killings sparked terror among Palestinians, encouraging them to

flee from their towns and villages in the face of Jewish troop advances, and it strengthened the resolve of Arab governments to

intervene, which they did five weeks later.

The Irgun has been viewed as a terrorist organization, or an

organization which carried out terrorist acts. It was violently

anti-Arab. That characterization was shared by the United

Nations, British, and United States governments; in media such

as The New York Times newspaper; as well as by the Anglo-

American Committee of Inquiry, the 1946 Zionist Congress, and

the Jewish Agency. Irgun's tactics appealed to many Jews who

believed that any action taken in the cause of the creation of a

Jewish state was justified, including terrorism.

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The Irgun was a political predecessor to Israel's right-wing

Herut (or "Freedom") party, which led to today's Likud party.

Likud has led or been a significant part of all Israeli

governments since 1977.

Nature of the movement

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Ze’ev Jabotinsky; modified public domain.

Ze’ev Jabotinsky formulated the movement's ideology and was

Supreme Commander of the Etzel (substantially Irgun.) Members of

the Irgun came mostly from Betar and from the Revisionist Party

both in Palestine and abroad. The Revisionist Movement made up a

popular backing for the underground organization. Jabotinsky,

also the founder of Revisionist Zionism, commanded the

organization. He formulated the general realm of operation,

regarding restraint and the end thereof, and was the inspiration for the organization overall. An additional major source of

ideological inspiration was the poetry of Uri Zvi Greenberg.

The number of members of the Irgun varied from a few hundred to

a few thousand. Most of them were "ordinary" people, who held

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regular jobs, and only a few dozen worked full-time in the

Irgun.

The Irgun disagreed with the policy of the Yishuv (the Jewish

community or settlement in Palestine during the 19th century and

until the formation of the state of Israel in 1948) and with the

World Zionist Organization, with regard to strategy, basic

ideology, public relations, and military tactics; such as the

use of armed force to accomplish the Zionist ends, operations

against the Arabs, and relations with the British mandatory

government. Therefore, the Irgun tended to ignore the decisions

made by the Zionist leadership and the Yishuv's institutions.

This fact caused the elected bodies not to recognize the

independent organization, and during most of the time of its

existence the organization was seen as irresponsible, and its

actions thus worthy of thwarting, though no documented thwarting

attempts have ever been noted.

Irgun Supreme Commanders:

1) Avraham Tehoni (1931-37)

2) Ze’ev Jabotinsky (1937-40)

3) Robert Bitker (1937)

4) Moshe Rosenberg (1937-38)

5) David Raziel (1938-39), (1939-41)

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6) Hanoch Kalai (1939)

7) Benyamin Zeroni (1939)

8) Yaakov Meridor (1941-43)

9) Menachem Begin (1943-48)

As members of an underground armed organization, Irgun personnel

did not normally call Irgun by its name, but rather used other

names. In the first years of its existence it was known

primarily as Ha-Haganah Leumit' (The National Defense), and also

by names such as Haganah Bet ("Second Defense"), Irgun Bet

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("Second Irgun"), the Parallel Organization, and the Rightwing

Organization. Later on it became most widely known as The Stand.

The Irgun gradually evolved from its humble origins into a

serious and well-organized paramilitary organization. The

movement developed a hierarchy of ranks and a sophisticated

command structure, and came to demand serious military training

and strict discipline from its members. It developed clandestine

networks of hidden arms caches and weapons production workshops,

safe houses, and training camps. The British authorities

believed that some Irgun members enlisted in the Jewish section

of the Palestine Police Force for a year as part of their training, during which they also passed intelligence.

In addition to the Irgun's members in Palestine, underground

Irgun cells composed of local Jews were established in Europe

following World War II. An Irgun cell was also established in

Shanghai, home to many European-Jewish refugees. In 1947, the

Jewish insurgency came to an end as the UN approved of the partition of Palestine, after the British had announced their

intention to withdraw the previous month. As the British left

and the 1947-48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine got underway, the Irgun came out of the underground and began to function more

as a standing army rather an underground organization. It began

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openly recruiting, training, and raising funds, and established

bases, including training facilities. It also introduced field

communications and created a medical unit and supply service.

Until World War II the group armed itself with weapons purchased

in Europe, primarily Italy and Poland. The Irgun also established workshops that manufactured spare parts and

attachments for the weapons. Also manufactured were land mines

and simple hand grenades.

Prior to World War II - Founding

The Irgun's first known steps were in the aftermath of the Riots

of 1929. In the Jerusalem branch of the Haganah there were feelings of disappointment and internal unrest towards the

leadership of the movements and the Histadrut, at that time the organization running the Haganah. These feelings were a result

of the view that the Haganah was not adequately defending Jewish

interests in the region. Likewise, critics of the leadership

spoke out against alleged failures in the number of weapons,

readiness of the movement and its policy of restraint and not

fighting back.

The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement also

founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky.

Image 87

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Chapters sprang up across Europe. After the war and during the

settlement of what became Israel, Betar was traditionally linked

to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Jewish pioneers. It was closely affiliated with pre-Israel Irgun. It

was one of many right-wing movements and youth groups arising at

that time that adopted special salutes and uniforms. Some of the

most prominent politicians of Israel were Betarim in their

youth, most notably future Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak

Shamir and Menachem Begin.

During the riots of 1929 Betar youth participated in the defense

of Tel Aviv neighborhoods at the behest of the Tel Aviv city

hall. After the riots the Tel Avivian group expanded, and was

known as "The Right Wing Organization." In August 1933 a

"Supervisory Committee" for the Irgun was established, which

included representatives from most of the Zionist political

parties.

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In protest against, and with the aim of ending Jewish

immigration to Palestine, the Great Arab Revolt of 1936–1939

broke out on April 19, 1936. The riots took the form of attacks

by Arab rioters ambushing main roads, bombing of roads and

settlements as well as property and agricultural vandalism,

claiming no human victims. In the beginning, the Irgun and the

Haganah generally maintained a policy of restraint, apart from a

few instances. Some expressed resentment at this policy, leading

up to internal unrest in the two organizations. The Irgun tended

to retaliate more often, and sometimes Irgun members patrolled

areas beyond their positions in order to encounter attackers

ahead of time; a pre-emptive ploy. However, there were

differences of opinion regarding what to do in the Haganah, as

well. Due to the joining of many Betar Youth members, Jabotinsky (founder of Betar) had a great deal of influence over Irgun

policy. Nevertheless, Jabotinsky was officially of the opinion

that for moral reasons violent retaliation was not to be

undertaken, though much had already been done.

In November 1936 the Peel Commission was sent to inquire regarding the breakout of the riots and propose a solution to

end the revolt. In early 1937 there were still some in the

Yishuv who felt the commission would recommend a partition of

Mandatory Palestine, the land west of the Jordan River, thus

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creating a Jewish state on part of the land. The Irgun

leadership, as well as the "Supervisory Committee" held similar

beliefs, as did some members of the Haganah and the Jewish

Agency. This belief strengthened the policy of restraint and led to the position that there was no room for defense institutions

in the future Jewish state. Tehomi, Irgun’s first Supreme

Commander, was quoted as saying; "We stand before great events:

a Jewish state and a Jewish army. There is a need for a single

military force." This position intensified the differences of

opinion regarding the policy of restraint, both within the Irgun

and within the political camp aligned with the organization. The

leadership committee of the Irgun supported a merger with the

Haganah. On April 24, 1937 a referendum was held among Irgun

members regarding its continued independent existence. David

Raziel and Avraham (Yair) Stern came out publicly in support for

the continued existence of the Irgun; “The Irgun has been placed

before a decision to make, whether to submit to the authority of

the government and the Jewish Agency or to prepare for a double sacrifice and endangerment. Some of our friends do not have

appropriate willingness for this difficult position, and have

submitted to the Jewish Agency and has left the battle ... all

of the attempts ... to unite with the leftist organization have

failed, because the Left entered into negotiations not on the

Image 88

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basis of unification of forces, but the submission of one such

force to the other....”

Image 89

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The first split

In April 1937 the Irgun split after the referendum.

Approximately 1,500–2,000 people, about half of the Irgun's

membership returned to the Haganah, which at that time was under

the Jewish Agency's leadership. The Supervisory Committee's

control over the Irgun ended, and Jabotinsky assumed command.

Ze'ev Jabotinsky placed Col. Robert Bitker at the head of the Irgun. Bitker had previously served as Betar commissioner in

China and had military experience. A few months later Jabotinsky

replaced Bitker with Moshe Rosenberg. When the Peel Commission

report was published a few months later, the Revisionist camp

decided not to accept the commission's recommendations.

Moreover, the organizations of Betar, Hatzohar and the Irgun

began to increase their efforts to bring Jews to the land of

Israel, illegally.

Illegal immigration

Image 90

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The ship Parita unloading immigrants in Tel Aviv; public domain.

According to Jabotinsky's "Evacuation Plan", which called for

millions of European Jews to be brought to Palestine at once,

the Irgun helped the illegal immigration of European Jews to the land of Israel. The difficult conditions on the ships demanded a

high level of discipline, as there was little food and water.

Their total haul has been estimated at 18,000.

Image 91

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End of restraint

Irgun members continued to defend settlements, but at the same

time began attacks on Arab villages, thus ending the policy of

restraint. These attacks were intended to instill fear in the

Arab side, in order to cause the Arabs to wish for peace and

quiet. The first attacks began around April 1936. A list may be

found on Wikipedia. In November, 1937 operations increased.

Despite British arrests, Irgun members continued fighting.

Jabotinsky lent his moral support to these activities. In a

letter to Moshe Rosenberg on March 18, 1938 he wrote;

“Tell them from afar I collect and save, as precious treasures,

news items about your lives. I know of the obstacles that have

not impeded your spirit; and I know of your actions as well. I

am overjoyed that I have been blessed with such students.”

In 1937 the Polish authorities began to deliver large amounts of

weapons to the now “underground” Irgun. The transfer of

handguns, rifles, explosives and ammunition curiously stopped

with the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939.

Immigration significantly decreased, and the Haganah began to

bring Jews to Palestine using rented ships, as the Irgun had in

the past.

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Irgun ceased anti-British operations said to be so as not to

hinder Britain's effort to fight "the Hebrew's greatest enemy in

the world – German Nazism.” During the Holocaust, Betar members

revolted numerous times against the Nazis in occupied Europe.

The largest of these revolts was the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

From 1939 onwards, an Irgun delegation in the United States

advocated for the creation of a Jewish army and state made up of

Jewish refugees and Jews from Palestine, to fight alongside the

Allied Forces. In July 1943 the "Emergency Committee to Save the

Jewish People in Europe," which included Irgun representation

was formed, and worked until the end of the war to rescue the

Jews of Europe from the Nazis and to garner public support for a

Jewish state. However, it was not until January 1944 that US

President Franklin Roosevelt established the War Refugee Board,

and achieved some success in saving European Jews.

Second split

On June 18, 1939, Avraham (Yair) Stern and others of the

leadership were released from British imprisonment and a rift

opened between them, Irgun, and Hatzohar, a Revisionist Zionist

organization, leadership. The controversy centered on the issue

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of the underground movement submitting to public political

leadership. Stern was elected to the leadership, in open

defiance of Jabotinsky’s plea to follow Raziel. Distrust was

rampant among the members. Out of the Irgun a new organization

was created on July 17, 1940, which was first named "The

National Military Organization in Israel" and later on changed

its name to Lehi, an acronym for Lohamei Herut Israel, "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel. The primary difference between the

Irgun and the newly formed organization was the latter’s

intention to fight the British in Palestine, regardless of their

war against Germany. Later, additional operational and

ideological differences developed which contradicted some of the

Irgun's guiding principles. The split damaged the Irgun both

organizationally and from a morale point of view.

This contributed to a mass abandonment by members. The British

took advantage of this weakness to gather intelligence and

arrest Irgun activists. The new Irgun leadership opted for more

cooperation between the Irgun and the Jewish Agency. However

David Ben-Gurion's uncompromising demand that Irgun accept the

Agency's command foiled any further co-operation. In both the

Irgun and the Haganah more voices were being heard opposing any

co-operation with the British.

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In late 1943 a joint Haganah – Irgun initiative was developed,

to form a single fighting body, unaligned with any political

party, by the name of “Fighting Nation.” The new body's first

plan was foiled and attributed to a Haganah information leak.

Immediately following the failure of Fighting Nation practical

discussions began in the Irgun Headquarters regarding a

declaration of war.

The Revolt

In 1943 the Polish II Corps arrived in Palestine from Iraq. The

British insisted that no Jewish units of the army be created.

Eventually, many of the soldiers of Jewish origin that arrived

with the army were released and allowed to stay in Palestine.

One of them was Menachem Begin, whose arrival in Palestine created newfound expectations within the Irgun and Betar. Begin

had served as head of the Betar movement in Poland, and was a

respected leader. Now he accepted the offer of Irgun leadership.

As if there hadn’t been one previously, a revolt against the

British mandatory government was publicized. Begin-led Irgun

said; “The facts are simple and horrible as one. Over the last

four years of the war we have lost millions of the best of our people and millions more are in danger of eradication. And the

land of Israel is closed off and quarantined because the British

Image 92

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rule it, and strives for the destruction of our people's last

hope.” The Irgun then declared that, for its part, the ceasefire

was over and they were now at war with the British. Irgun

demanded the transfer of rule to a Jewish government, to

implement ten policies; among them were the mass evacuation of

Jews from Europe. One statement contained this rather telling

phrase; “The fighting youth will not recoil in the face of

sacrifices and suffering, blood and torment. They will not

surrender, so long as our days of old are not renewed, so long

as our nation is not ensured a homeland.”

Struggle against the British

Bombings of British government buildings commenced. These

actions were initially condemned by the organized leadership of

the Yishuv and the Jewish Agency, who saw them as dangerous

provocations. At the same time the Irgun and Lehi also renewed its attacks against the British.

Leibowitz Concludes

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It is reasonable to say that Irgun and Lehi were the first to

use modern terrorist practices, and that they did no good for

Jews in doing so. Indeed, many of their actions seemed

antithetical to Jewish interests.

Mark lost interest, at least for the moment, and sought the

entertainment provided by “Humps&Grumps.com.”

Image 93

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**8**

Un-Professional Allegedly Entertaining Site (UPAES)

Dream #1

The house was one of those rambling old country houses which

popped up here and there back east during the nineteenth

century. Though modernizations were typical and expected with

structures of this advanced age, none were evident on this one.

There had to have been some, but they also had to have been done

“in keeping” with the original style’s integrity. The clapboard

exterior siding was painted a cloudy yellow, suggesting that the

painter had finished his work a while back. Despite the age

there was no peeling. In fact one might say that the color had

acquired a charming patina, the yellow gently blending with a

creamy white undercoating, which could not be mimicked out of a

can.

He fleetingly wondered how he had come to see the outside. As

far as he knew he had never previously been there and he was on

the inside; on the second floor. It was only his logically

refined instincts which told him that this was his house as he

was trailed by two home improvement contractors, who

continuously spoke to him, themselves, or no one in particular;

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of how easily and cheaply they could make repairs. He thought

that he heard Beth rattling around downstairs, sometimes

speaking to someone or also talking to herself.

The contracting team consisted of a five foot two inch man who

exchanged the stub of an unlit cigar between his mouth and his

left hand; apparently the hand most useful when he felt the need

to blurt out some commentary in a rapidity which seemed to be

nervously induced. His partner; a woman with blonde hair below

her blue jeans; was almost a foot taller, and seemed more

matter-of-fact about whatever was going on or not going on. “Big

Blonde” periodically and sparsely interjected her deadpanned

observations whenever “Little Cigar” seemed to run out of steam

or looked to her for agreement, approval or assistance. It may

go without saying, but she gave the appearance and sound of

being entirely on his side and well accustomed to making an open

display of that when obliged. At times this activity seemed to

bely the upward drift of her blue pupils; a look which she

seemed to maintain a sufficient time to be “inadvertently”

noticed, instantaneously followed by a quick “correction” to

center eye. A cynical person might have construed this

ophthalmic gyration as some sort of insinuation.

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Notwithstanding the marginally, cranium compelling work, with

which he had just been almost entertained, the bulk of his

concentration was on the floor. And rightly so, as this floor

seemed odd and dangerous to him. It consisted of traditionally

planked wood, but almost all the planks were turned up at their

edges, perhaps an indication of prior water damage. One could

easily trip. To make matters a bit more difficult the entire

floor seemed to slope toward the wall and glass windows to the

outside. To make matters Triple A level difficult, the floor’s

width approximated all of two feet.

That was because of an oddity he had never seen in any other

house. The vast majority of the second floor consisted of a

gigantic central tunnel to which he had no access unless he

smashed a hole in the black colored wallboard to his left. That

seemed to be rash and a last resort. He knew that the house was

built before the days of coal, oil, gas, or electrically

generated heat. It once depended upon wood burning fireplaces in

every room; most of which were walled in when they became un-

fashionable and “inefficient.” Still, he thought that the

exhaust generated by a newer, more powerful heating system

should not take up 80% of the entire house. To do that would

have to have been a multi-faceted illogical expression of a

dada-redundant, absurdist “answer” to the most practical of

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situations; or a pseudo-intellectually compelling, reductionist

representation of proportions and parts; or another

impressionistically inspired imperfection with a compelling

argument for justification, imperfection the key word; or the

silent sharpness of a stark, sophisticated, falsely egalitarian

minimalism; or a surrealistic rendering of Pollack

simultaneously puking and pissing into the host’s fireplace. The

thought then crossed his mind that more likely than any sort of

temporal movement, that this monstrous hindrance was likely the

work done as a modern adaptation of a third eye deficient and

un-noticed desire for Masonic symbolized greenbacks by an inept,

charlatan of an un-licensed, fly-by-night contractor, who

lucratively found a sucker.

He wondered if the first floor was so configured. He hoped not,

but suspected as such, as that possibility would seem to leave

the most minimal of efficient, crooked living area.

He stopped himself, perhaps un-necessarily. However, in the

moment, it seemed prudent to first determine what was behind the

black wall before speculating on the reasons for its existence.

But first he would have to get rid of the contractors. If they

saw him punch a hole in it, it would not only be another source

of “needed repair,” but it would also be another story which the

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peddlers could spread all over the area, embellished to convey

“interesting” sociopathic innuendo to the small town locals,

dying for something to say over their back yard fences.

He walked near a five foot wide and two foot deep, curved

indentation in the outside wall with a shut window in the

center. More loudly expressed than his numerous previous

suggestions of “repair,” Little Cigar said; “Oh,” in an

attempted, contractor indication of ruinous, unfortunate

astonishment; prior to his overly eager, “surprising” follow-up;

“We can hep ya out with that.”

He was indeed surprised. He stared at the hollow groove, saw no

imperfections, and supposed that the original builder intended

it to appear as it did. He said; “What’s wrong with it?” amused

and in full anticipation of the reply which he thought would

follow.

Little Cigar approached the recessed window. His hands

gesticulated in an initially haphazard and animated manner. His

eyes periodically peered at him as if to say; “You’re either

blind or kidding me.” This bold activity culminated in a rather

subdued and restrained set of hands with palms to their

respective sides and, while unlike the olfactory proclivities

Leibowitz Concludes

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demonstrated by his partner; he witnessed the most bulging of

facially intrusive eyeballs. Their sheer size and red, veiny

appearance was something he had never previously encountered

more close up than in Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,”

and that required artificially induced openings and a lot of

makeup.

Though the thoughts of a thousand childish horror movies flashed

through his mind, he successfully hid the trepidation which

seemed to well up throughout his entire existence. He recalled

the long ago warning given by Sid; “Don’t play with little

minds.” His intended little joke had seemed to have un-nerved a

serious person; perhaps a dangerously serious person. He looked

to Big Blonde and found some degree of comforting adjournment in

her shrug, grimace, and back turn.

Little Cigar ended his consternation when he said; “We can get

this flush with the other walls.”

Feeling relieved and a bit more plucky, he responded; “It

doesn’t seem to be a problem right now. Besides, if you move the

wall inward, the window will become useless. Unless, of course,

you make a window of the entire area. Ah, even then it will be

cut off at every edge. The only way I can conceive of getting

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around all these considerations is to move out all the other

walls; and that’s just too expensive.”

Little Cigar calmly agreed, his furrowed brow indicative of a

confusion he could not articulate or confound in the moment.

He was sure that he didn’t invite them and therefore felt that

he owed them nothing more than minimal courtesy and an ushering

to the front door. But, he thought that for a number of reasons

it was pragmatically best to let the contractors do at least one

job. He pointed through the window and said; “Look. The yard is

full of last year’s dead growth. It’ll likely take a few days to

get rid of it.” As the now distracted contractors gazed, he

yelled out; “Come on up here, Beth; I can use some help;” and

heard a silent response which surrounded an Antonioni murmur.

Little Cigar broke the silence when he urgently said; “There’s a

trespasser on the property!”

He looked out and saw a powder blue, mid 1960’s Ford Fairlane

idling just ten feet east of the window, destined to either go

straight ahead or straight back, a prisoner of the stockade

fence immediately to its left. He wondered why he had not

noticed it last look.

Leibowitz Concludes

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Suddenly, Little Cigar, Big Blonde and he were outside. Someone

called out; “Hey, what are you doin’ here?”

The car started to move slowly, and as it passed the trio, they

saw the lone driver. It was a smiling grayish-blonde woman of

about fifty years of age. Her countenance was disarming and she

said; “I used to live here and I just wanted to see it one last

time.” The car kept moving and went out to the road, where it

disappeared from sight.

He didn’t remember climbing any stairs, but he was back inside

the house on the second floor. He peered through the same window

and saw Big Blonde take off her clothes and get under the water

flow coming from a tall standpipe. He thought it was still a bit

too chilly for that as it seemed like a typical, mid-spring, New

Jersey morning. Little Cigar was nowhere in sight and he felt

that it was wrong for him to be watching Big Blonde. Besides, he

wanted to explore the huge, black sideways tunnel in the center

of the house and he saw an entry which had previously escaped

him.

He went in. It was dark. He fumbled for a light switch and found

none. He kept moving slowly. He thought he was heading for the

Leibowitz Concludes

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center, but knew that he couldn’t be certain of that. He

detected some movement and then saw the dimly lit interior.

There were stores. The shopkeepers paid him no notice and seemed

to going through their daily routine of setting up.

He was not the least bit happy that others were making use of

his property. Since he was on solid ground on the second level

he wondered if this sideways tunnel extended throughout the

house or if was only of that elevated place. He had now taken so

many steps that if there was any opening to the first floor it

would have to be a small one, just like a funnel rather than a

sideways tunnel. A woman of about thirty, who was olive skinned,

and draped in multi-colored robes like a gypsy sat behind glass,

the size of a typical window. As he got near, she smiled and

said; “Fortunes told.” He kept moving as for some reason this

woman seemed ominous to him and he also wanted to see the extent

to which the stores had invaded his property. The woman’s smile

grew and turned into a cackle; her eyes seeming to become

glowing pieces of coal set aflame. She now appeared to be

maniacal.

The absurdity of the entire situation was no longer a curiosity

or fear. It made him realize that he was in a dream. So, he

decided to have some fun. He approached one of the shop keepers

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who was setting up a window display, with his back to him. He

wanted to see Beth and he wanted to know the extent of the

tunnel-funnel in that order. He asked the man; “Where is the

stairway down?”

He realized that he had met another comedian when the man,

turned, started laughing, and said; “The only stairway goes up.”

He woke up to see the pine beams on his tongue and grooved

ceiling. He sighed and again closed his eyes, but he was now

wide awake. He wished he could drift back off to sleep again, as

the entertainment was better there than on the internet; more of

the non-entertainment on the ignored laptop screen below.

Dream #2

“I trust you. Let’s not split yet. I know a movie theatre five

miles away that plays old films. Let’s go sit in the dark for a

while.”

“Anywhere with you is great with me. I like old movies anyway. I

might fall asleep, though.”

They took her Mercedes and she drove silently to the appointed

spot. They parked in the small dirt lot, which looked as if it

Leibowitz Concludes

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had not been maintained or repaired for some time. It contained

no other cars. They saw the plastic lettered marquee indicating

that “All That Heaven and Earth Allow ” was playing. Neither of

them knew the film. As they walked to the ticket booth they

noticed that the stills were in black and white.

He said; “The title suggests that this is going to be a long

one.”

Kelly looked at him, with a bit of an incredulous posture and

deadpanned; “Not if it had a good editor.”

The ticket booth was empty when they got there, so they walked

right inside. They shuffled around the lobby looking at the

stills on the wall, keeping an eye out for help. When none came

in a few minutes, they decided to walk right in. As he was

opening the door a woman of about sixty entered the lobby from

another door, trailed by a man of similar age. She had long gray

hair and dressed younger than her years. His countenance was

more of a disheveled acquiescence to his time, wearing proper

attire that was maintained as well as the parking lot. He also

had long gray hair, though much of the middle was now missing.

He seemed somber. The old woman smiled at the venturesome couple

and said; “It’s already started, so go right in and enjoy it.”

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Kelly said; “We really should pay you something, shouldn’t we?”

The older woman replied; “No. It’s already playing and it’s too

much trouble for me to start handling money right now. We’ve got

other things to do.” She looked at her companion and smiled. He

silently followed her out through the same door previously used

as the entry.

He and Kelly simultaneously said “Thanks” and continued through

the door which led to the screening room. No one else seemed to

be there, though they couldn’t be sure in the dark. He followed

her down the center aisle to furry seats about 10 rows from the

screen, right in the middle of it.

The movie was at a point where the actions and dialogue made no

sense to them. If there were any way to succinctly describe what

they saw and heard, it would probably be worry, combat and

randomness, with no obvious logic. They leaned heads and

shoulders against each other and quickly fell asleep.

They woke up to a crescendo of classical music, apparently the

end. Still half asleep they watched the two lovers on the screen

hold each other. As it was early in their awakening, they could

Leibowitz Concludes

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have been wrong, but visually, it seemed that the two screen

characters merged. He became her and she him. Kelly and he both

had the same thought. The merger could be an illusion caused by

their dreary state, but they would have bet their lives, that at

the very least, her eyes became his and vice-versa.

The movie did end right there and the two stood up to leave.

Each knew the thoughts of the other, so they exchanged

questioning and knowing looks as they walked. Neither knew the

right thing to say and didn’t want to ruin the mood. They slowly

walked back to her car, the bright sun shocking them back to the

reality of the moment.

The Princess and the Prince Discuss What’s Real

A Brief Obligatory Intense Aside, Chosen for the Restrained

Devotees of What’s Not There Complimenting What Is;and What is

There Paying Lip Service to What is Not; Routine Unfeasibility,

Adorned and Exposed; Also Known As Magical Realism; an Untitled

Measured Response to the Dearth Bound Plethora of Abundantly

Absent and Silent Interrogations; Suitable for the Rejection of

Literary Murakami, Illustrated Gaiman, and Overly Overt Rushdie;

Comedic and Hateful in their Seriousness and Love

Leibowitz Concludes

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The cool sun was aghast in its un-robotically, requisite, blasé,

progressive retreat as it spread its ardent wings over the

peripatetic Crimean Sea above it. The socially maladroit

maritime fixture deafeningly fired weakly from its rippling

interior, the non-resultant smoke incandescence, previously

known only in the Arctic, producing no effect on the planet

which did not exist below, as it evinced the faintest of

flagrant falsetto flags, strongly indicative of the bounty of

nothing. “All too obviously fake. It’s all wrong in its

correctness,” screamed Orpheus Mictlantecuhtli, as he played a

lullaby yet another morning with his melodious lack of song. His

entreaty of; “Wake up; it has ended,” was not answered with a

thunderously diminished reply of; “Go to sleep, dummy. It has

started.” Sixteen libidinous vestal virgin sisters who were

biologically un-related, were introduced to eight disassociated

brothers, and in unison echoed that they knew them very well.

The brothers nodded affirmatively to the lie. The twenty four

loners remained together, joined hands and danced off

separately.

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