Countdown 2 ArmegeddonWritten by Gary Whittaker
'Tis season to be jolly! Why? Simple. King George II, owing his re-election in large part to American Christian Right Wing, will certainly not defoul regions surrounding holy land by launching any more full-scale attacks, in this, a time of celebration for birth of baby Jesus. While "peace to all, and goodwill towards man" is a little too much to ask for right now, we can expect that no major military offensives will be planned until at least January 30th. That is day when people of Iraq will have privilege of choosing which of their leaders will have honor of bending over for american business interests before falling over after having been assasinated. Make no mistake about it. No good will come of Iraq's first election. The Iraqi's have long since stopped seeing Americans as liberators. Too many stories of shootings on sacred ground, refusal of medical care for wounded, and of course, unlawful confinement (ex: Guantanamo Bay). The Americans have long outstayed their welcome on Iraqi soil. Reading between lines in Bush's latest address (CNN Article), he is clearly setting up his military strategy for 2005. Warning Syria and Iran to stay out of Iraq, would be like telling a child not to look for their presents, but showing them where you hid it. Both countries are now openly supporting various revolutionary parties in Iraq, so a collision course is inevitable. I can only imagine Iranians, who had to live with a decade of war with Iraq who were sponsored at time by Americans. They finally have a chance to strike back at their real enemy! This, my friends, is only one example of American foreign policy that will eventually lead to demise of American Empire. Sooner or later, all cultures fade away, and Americans will be undone by their blatant disregard for others. Live by sword, die by sword. Americans have used other countries as weapons for decades, yet are shocked when their planes are hijacked. I am in no way condoning any terrorist actions, only pointing out that Americans are no better than people they claim to be liberating today.
| | The Narcissist and His FriendsWritten by Sam Vaknin
"Who's fairest of them all?" – asks Bad Queen in fairy tale. Having provided wrong answer, mirror is smashed to smithereens. Not a bad allegory for how narcissist treats his "friends".Literature helps us grasp intricate interactions between narcissist and members of his social circle. Both Sherlock Holmes and Hercules Poirot, world's most renowned fiction detectives, are quintessential narcissists. Both are also schizoids – they have few friends and are largely confined to their homes, engaged in solitary activities. Both have fatuous, sluggish, and anodyne sidekicks who slavishly cater to their whims and needs and provide them with an adulating gallery – Holmes' Dr. Watson and Poirot's poor Hastings. Both Holmes and Poirot assiduously avoid "competition" – equally sharp minds who seek their company for a fertilising intellectual exchange among equals. They feel threatened by potential need to admit to ignorance and confess to error. Both gumshoes are self-sufficient and consider themselves peerless. The Watsons and Hastings of this world provide narcissist with an obsequious, unthreatening, audience and with kind of unconditional and unthinking obedience that confirms to him his omnipotence. They are sufficiently vacuous to make narcissist look sharp and omniscient – but not so asinine as to be instantly discernible as such. They are perfect backdrop, never likely to attain centre stage and overshadow their master. Moreover, both Holmes and Poirot sadistically – and often publicly – taunt and humiliate their Sancho Panzas, explicitly chastising them for being dim-witted. Narcissism and sadism are psychodynamic cousins and both Watson and Hastings are perfect victims of abuse: docile, understanding, malignantly optimistic, self-deluding, and idolising. Narcissists can't empathise or love and, therefore, have no friends. The narcissist is one track minded. He is interested in securing Narcissistic Supply from Narcissistic Supply Sources. He is not interested in people as such. He is incapable of empathising, is a solipsist, and recognises only himself as human. To narcissist, all others are three dimensional cartoons, tools and instruments in tedious and Sisyphean task of generating and consuming Narcissistic Supply. The narcissist over-values people (when they are judged to be potential sources of such supply), uses them, devalues them (when no longer able to supply him) and discards them nonchalantly. This behaviour pattern tends to alienate and to distance people.
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