Thomas Pynchon?

[Gouda]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Pynchon published this political satire under his own name during a dangerous time, raising most secrets in public, albeit in code, warning, statesmanlike, of a possible dire outcome. The Menippean pattern has been there in the text, plain as the nose on our faces, since 1966, lying there like a Magic Eye® print few people recognize. The funny thing about Magic Eye® prints is that, when you see them in two dimensions, you can't understand all the fuss, but once you see them in three dimensions, you can't imagine why everybody doesn't see them that way all the time.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

Finally:<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>...if we are willing to endure the chill shiver of paranoia, the eel in the bowel of fear; if we follow up on all the leads, round up the usual suspects in standard reference books (not necessarily classified documents); if we can keep our heads while those around us are losing theirs and blaming it on us, then we will wind up with a lot more than the overt narrative of The Crying of Lot 49. We may wind up with words we never wanted to hear, but we may become those who know.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br>!!!<br> <p></p><i></i>

[JimNelson]

That last quote is, as we say, a doozy.<br><br>Pychon (and Salinger) are admirable in remaining recluses, rejecting the celebrity/whore machinery that, up close and personal, is so degrading (fame being one of the three temptations offered Jesus by Satan). Like contemplative anchorites during the fall of Rome, they remain outside, in the "desert of the real". <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

It occurred to me that if Pynchon is codedly trying to convey to us that techno/industrial-based dynastic powers periodically usurp each other, then perhaps the Rockefeller/Dulles/Bush number has come up. Who said that the twin towers represented David and Nelson Rockefeller? The towers came down, and now we are bombarded with the Peal Oil / end of Oil meme. This may be telling us that the elite guard is or has changed again. The CIA itself may have been left behind by its founding fascists as a shell, an alluring decoy to absorb years and years of public scrutiny and suspicion - while the old boys and their sons may have moved on from and out of the CIA into colder, darker realms. Again, we may well be behind the curve re the "CIA". <br><br>Who or what has usurped the Rockefeller/Dulles/Bush/CIA front? And which new technology, material or otherwise, is the fuel? <p></p><i></i>

[steve vegas]

<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=41807">Rayelan</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> (links to faction article) at rumor mill news pushes this struggle between factions as the mother of all conspiracies. I've indicated in another thread that I think she is loopy and if not an actual disinfo agent herself, she is an effective conduit for right-wing disinfo. At any rate, I've been captivated by this idea of these hidden factions fighting each other for control of the world (for lack of a better term) using world events, advertising, ect. as their pawns on a big chessboard. <br><br>This idea becomes even more interesting to me in light of Pynchon's coded depiction of <br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>techno/industrial-based dynastic powers periodically usurp each other<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=41807">This</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> is only marginally related, but I'm going to throw it in the hopes that somebody smart will read it and draw a comparison. <br><br>It seems to me, that Rayelan is onto somehthing, though she's got the actors and philosophies all mixed up. Any thoughts? <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

Rumor Mill News is real screwy, and Rayelan does not factor in Faction 3: The People. <br><br>I like to think: "As below, so it is not yet above" - a twist on the esoteric maxim and a play on the "From Below" campaign of the humble people in Chiapas, and by extention, everywhere. We are everywhere. <p></p><i></i>

[FourthBase]

You're so right:<br>Billions of us, thousands of them. <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

sarcasm 4B? or for real. <p></p><i></i>

[FourthBase]

No, for real. We = billions. They = thousands.<br>The numbers are in <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>our</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> favor, if we can unite. <p></p><i></i>