a refreshing veiw of potential threats around the world.

Y2K People Finding People - http://www.webpal.org/list.htm

Man, uniquely among the creatures,
tries to control nature, events and the future.
Beavers build dams and birds build nests
but these are the result of instinct.

Man alone keeps a historical record of the past
and seeks, from the experience,
to control the future.

Man too, builds dams,

and tries to prevent floods,
and forest fires,
and other catastrophes of nature.

While many of his accomplishments are marvelous,
the greater the control -
often the greater the catastrophe.

We have learned
that continued fire suppression in the forests
leads to such an accumulation of undergrowth
that when a fire does eventually break out
the conflagration is immense and can wipe out
thousands of acres.

While the Great Dam make prevent a great many floods,
when the Hundred Year, or Thousand Year flood comes
it is still overwhelmed and even more life and property is lost
because of the proximity with which building has taken place
to what people thought was its security.

I could give many other examples,
but it is not the specifics
but rather the principle that interests me.

These days, I have been observing in particular,
the extensive degree of control
that man (men, institutions, organizations, etc)
has been able to exert over

oil production (OPEC)
gasoline prices (Refiners and the Government)
stock market (Wall Street, Federal Reserve)
gold prices (Federal Reserve, Wall Street)
arms control (International Treaties)
peace process (UN, International Diplomatic Corps).

This list, too, could go on to include a plethora of other activities.
(Interest rates, taxation, unemployment, investment, research,
and on and on.)

But here too,
events and circumstances
can, and eventually will,
exceed the degree of control -
and the resulting catastrophe will be ever greater.

While
the sinking of a Titanic,
the fall of a Concord,
the bursting of a Dam,
the conflagration of a Forest
are all notable and awful physical events
the failure of control in social institutions
results in:
economic collapse (never use the D word)
revolution
war
and death, disease and poverty
far beyond the aforementioned physical events.

The world has never seen before,
the degree of control in existence today.
The cities have never been so large,
the skyscrapers so high,
the stock market so high and stable,
the unemployment in North America so low,
the prisons so full,
the crime rates so low,
the lack of plagues for so long,
the life expectancy so long,
the population so large,
life so great,
the weapons of war so numerous and so idle,
the dam so ready to burst.

On the surface,
such calm and quiet,
as people build more and higher
above the earthquake faults and the sleeping volcano
(I speak in analogy - rather than with concern about those actual).

The rumblings beneath the surface go unnoticed,
except to the rare observer.
This week as in every week
we observe the mounting pressures.
Madame Dr. Albright pushes the Pope to pronounce
the desire for Jerusalem to be an International City for ALL Religions -
(immediately rejected by both the Moslems and Jews)
Arafat makes firm his commitment to the Moslem world
to declare Palestine an independent state on September 13th.
The 3rd Israeli nuclear armed sub scheduled to be on post
in the Mediterranean by September 1st.
Russian response that they will have FIVE nuclear subs on post
in the Mediterranean by September first
(along with 40 other vessels including an aircraft carrier).
Isn't THAT enough for ONE week
following all the previous weeks?
But there was MUCH more -
with IRAQ, Saudi Arabia, Syria, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA,
and extensive, very extensive military activity in China.
This list too, goes on and on.

But the sun shines,
the birds sing
and the picnic party in the park goes on.
Enjoy.

Peace and love,
Bruce Beach
survival@webpal.org