“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” — Albert Einstein

As has been demonstrated in the past, Albert had a pretty well-developed, hell, a finely-honed, very basic and personal sense of humor, with a big streak of Bozo in him, which he was smart enough to recognize, and embrace…. The above is a perfect example of how he could express an incredibly deep, complex philosophical, or even scientific, concept with one pungent, and delightfully amusing statement…. Another he made that I enjoyed was, “After figuring out the configuration of space and time, wearing fuzzy slippers with striped pajamas is a piece of cake.”….. The first time I saw it, I about fell down from laughing so hard….

I also enjoyed one of the statements attributed to his wife… She and Albert were touring one the government’s space flight centers, in Los Angeles, in the early 1950’s…. While touring a part of the day alone with her guide, she asked one of them what a piece of complicated equipment was. He replied, “That’s a machine we use to explore the shape and structure of space and time.” “Oh”, she remarked, “my husband just does that on the back of an envelope….”  Brilliant!

So, you might wonder why we are discussing humorous incidents from the life of Albert, and, if you are, you’d be justified in doing so (I always like to provide some affirmation first thing in the morning for my gentle readers… it’s one of the little services we like to give our visitors, gratis….). Of course, that wondering won’t ever be fulfilled, because it’s none of your damn business…. No, that’s a joke, and not true…. Sorry, let’s begin again….

Why are we discussing Albert and his wife? Well, actually, we’re not…. We’re wandering around not really discussing ANYTHING just now, because I’ve again lost control of this intro. That’s not unusual, so we’ll keep plugging away until I get to the point, which is this….

Reality is an illusion, just like Albert sez…. Here at Exploring Consensual Reality, we are dedicated to providing y’all with a version of Reality you may not always be aware of…. I hope….. In doing so, I’m fulfilling my own need to rant, to get this crap out of my head, and onto the screen, in order to maintain what little sanity I have left after so many years of fighting Reality to stay in some sort of shape I could deal with….. The Reality I am describing is consensual, in that we all have to live here together, so we may as well try to get along…. but, that doesn’t always mean it will stay that way….

With that said, we arrive back to Albert’s contention, which tells us that, no matter how little we trust Reality to be what we expect, it will always surprise us anyway, if only by its stubborn insistence on unpredictability, contrasted by its habitual assumption of traditional shapes and patterns… It only does that to lull us into a false sense of security, whereupon it will make drastic changes, right before our eyes…. As one of the most flexible manifestations of the universe at large, it demonstrates our most important lesson in life by its mere existence, and its behaviors….

Learning how to deal with that can take an entire lifetime, if not two or three, so, we should probably get on with our learning sessions, so we can eventually move on to the next level of karmic existence, at some higher plane of Reality…. or, all of what we see is bound by the rules as laid down by the religious dogmatists…. in which case, we’re all up shit creek, and no paddles in sight….

Shall we Pearl?…..

He sees that this great roundabout
The world, with all its motley rout,
Church, army, physic, law,
Its customs and its businesses,
Is no concern at all of his,
And says–what says he?–Caw.

— William Cowper (1731-1800) — The Jackdaw, (Translation from Vincent Bourne)
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It seems the BRC has captured one of the world’s most dangerous drug cartel leaders, El Chapo, the Dude, of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico…. I have included below a link to the article announcing the capture, and included below that some “interesting” phrases and words used by the anonymous spokescops (who are never authorized to talk to journalists….. but, they do anyway….)…. The italicized words are the ones I’d like to point out to y’all, with a comment or two about them as an addendum…. Read the story, then, we’ll talk…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Mexico-captures-Sinaloa-cartel-boss-Chapo-Guzman-5258301.php

“He was caught with an unidentified woman, said one U.S. official, who added that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were “heavily involved” in the capture…… A federal law enforcement official said intelligence from a Homeland Security Department investigation also helped lead U.S. and Mexican authorities to his whereabouts…… Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. ….. Mexican authorities, based on a series of arrests in recent months, got wind….. “

“didn’t say how authorities traced him to Mazatlan……” “A U.S. law enforcement official said members of Guzman’s security team helped Mexican and U.S. authorities find him after they were arrested earlier this month. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the case by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.”….. “His arrest followed the takedown of several top Sinaloa operatives in the last few months and at least 10 mid-level cartel members in the last week. The information leading to Guzman was gleaned from those arrested, said Michael S. Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.”

Allow me to point out a few little things in this article that give us a little clue as to how things are in the REAL world, where the government has the tools to find and capture ANYONE in the entire world, by the use of their “counter-terrorism” toys, and “executive orders” and the excuse of national security to employ any and all techniques to achieve their purpose, up to, and including torture, lying at will, and the legal clearance to perform their actions in complete darkness, without any public or judicial oversight…..

“an unidentified woman“, said one U.S. official, who added that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were “heavily involved”

To my suspicious mind, this suggests the strong possibility that the US DEA and Marshals used an undercover female operative to lure Guzman into an isolated position, where they could take him without dealing with his security forces…. which they did, perfectly…. In several articles I’ve seen, in addition to this one, the same phrase, “an unidentified woman” was used…. Now, do you you REALLY believe she is ‘unidentified’?… I don’t….

intelligence from a Homeland Security Department investigation also helped

Gee, ya think? Homeland Security is authorized to do whatever they want…. Why shouldn’t they share their technology, and some of that unlimited data they are picking up from around the world with anyone who wants it?…. As long as they’re giving it to another group of their insane compatriots, they’ll share it, with pride, even glee, in their own ingenuity, never caring at all about how unethical it is….

Mexican authorities, based on a series of arrests in recent months, got wind….. ” “didn’t say how authorities traced him to Mazatlan.

“Got wind?” Got wind? What the hell does that mean? And, since when do the police go by information they “got wind” of…..  Ffolkes, somebody is hiding something here, ya think? It’s obvious they don’t want to let the public know where they are getting their information, although in this case, they give us another clue about that….

members of Guzman’s security team helped Mexican and U.S. authorities

Gosh! That was awfully nice of those fellows…. These hard-boiled, vicious drug cartel security individuals had a complete change of heart, and shared all they knew with Mexican and US authorities, out of the goodness of those hearts, I suppose…. I think it is probably more likely that the word, and technique, “waterboarding” was brought into play, as both a threat, and in actual use… I don’t believe for a minute these guys gave up their boss without a little bit of a struggle…. They come from a culture where “machismo” is paramount, and they would not consider it very macho to talk…. Hence, they were “persuaded to help”, and I don’t think the persuasive techniques used were verbal, or anything other than torture….

How do I come to that conclusion from this article? Easy…. they told us, in so many words….

 gleaned from those arrested, said Michael S. Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.”

How does one “glean” information from drug cartel security forces? I don’t think it was the promise of some Kool-Aid, ffolkes, do you?…. And, since this mouthpiece was “briefed” on the “operation”, what do YOU think he meant by “gleaned”? I do try NOT to be too naive….

This whole “broken rant” was created for the single purpose of demonstrating how the BRC uses its new toys, provided by us, to wit: you, and me, the not-quite-charmingly naive public, when we allowed them to pass those silly ass Homeland Security bullshit Acts after the 9/11 attacks…. In truth, I don’t really care much that they used it to bring down such a predator…. He was, and is, no doubt, someone we can all do without in our midst, since he insists on preying on the weak and foolish….

But, it seems to me, it was all merely an exercise of domestic discipline, as one set of vicious, insane power-hungry individuals, in the official, authorized, guise of law enforcement myrmidons of the ruling elite, tracked down and captured one of their own type of people, who had the bad taste to try to force his will on others without having the mandate of the public voting apparatus…. When one doesn’t automatically accept the bilge water that is presented to us as the truth, it is easy to see how little difference there is between those who hunted him down, and he who was hunted….

Governments have the backing of the multi-national corporations that control society, whereas the big drug cartels, rich and powerful as they may grow, are merely small businesses compared to them… and, we all know what happens to small business when a mega-corp wants to step into their marketplace…. The pharmaceutical companies don’t like the competition from street drugs, so they keep society amped up in arms against them, so their bottom line profit is not reduced to any significant degree….

The whole War on Drugs, (Y,know? It’s funny how our society’s rulers always deal with a problem by declaring War on it….Then, they throw money at it, and tell people that will make it go away…. Hmm…. how’s that working for ya?….), that has been raging in this country since the mid-1930’s, when the drug companies noticed how popular marijuana was becoming in the mainstream, is merely another example of how the real rulers in society don’t want the people to make their own decision about ANYTHING, not if whatever it is can make money for them….

(It’s why they are making their play for control of the Internet…. It’s a very real, but, still only potential, money cow…. if they can wrest control away, and start charging for access, they’ll essentially control all the information flow…. which also gives them the wherewithal to censor information, before it gets TO the information cloud…. If they keep control in their corporate hands, you can kiss 75% of the Internet’s effectiveness as a social communication tool, free of interference, goodbye….)

Instead, the governments, at the urging of their corporate masters, spread outright lies and mountains of false information through their own media outlets, attempting to convince people of the dangers of (whatever), followed by the passage of legislation making any who decide for themselves into criminals in the eyes of society….. Even though, as in the case with marijuana, what they are fighting against is actually better for people than anything they have in the list of drugs they manufacture, (at a 2000% profit-margin, don’t y’know….), they decided to enlist the government’s influence over the people to make it illegal, since they had no actual way to stop people from finding and using it…. It grows EVERYWHERE on this planet, without much effort…. That’s why they call it a weed, you know?….

Okay, I’ve rambled, and ranted enough for one morning…. Ffolkes, the governments, the BRC, the Asininnies, the shadowy corporate slave masters, or, whatever label you wish to place upon those who actually rule this planet, don’t give a shit about me, or you, and they’re going to continue to do whatever they choose, just as long as we let them…. They make my life, and yours, a hundred times more difficult than it needs to be, all for the sake of maintaining control over the power, and resources, with which they are obsessed. I, for one, am tired of playing their game…. What game?….

“If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.” — Pentagon official, on why US military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

As far as possible, for the remainder of my life, I will be taking every opportunity I find to expose their asininity, their chicanery, their just plain evil intentions, in as loud a voice as I can muster…. I’d appreciate any help I can get in spreading that exposition around to those who need to see it…. Maybe, just maybe, if I can get this idea into the heads of enough reasonably intelligent people, we all will figure out it is time to stop them…. Then, we can join forces, to create of a large enough repository of the power of human will to overcome the physical entrenchments that have already been put into place, for their protection against that very thing….

With enough people, of good loving heart and infinite compassion, all putting their force of will behind whatever we decide is necessary, I’m sure it would be more than enough to turn the tide, and, in the process, maybe, just maybe, we’ll save our own sorry asses from the depredations we have allowed them to perpetrate in our name…..

“For me, all I can do is spit in the eye of my fears by living each day with as much passion and commitment as possible to what truly counts, such as love and justice. To give the into the fear and hopelessness would be to declare defeat, something I am not ready to do while there is still the will to struggle.” — Lawrence Paradis
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Whew! That was an epic rant, to be sure…. it just kept growing on me…. Now I need something soothing, with overt hints of extreme beauty, with some irony to spice it up, to realign the wobbly portions of my dubious spirit…. When in doubt, I always prefer to turn to a genius, even, or, in truth,  especially  a genius whose mind has spent so much time in an alternate version of Reality from the rest of us…. In this woman’s case, she went so far in that direction, she BECAME eight other distinct personalities…. Incredible talent here, ffolkes, all in one whose own mind was more than she could easily handle….

All things considered, it’s been an interesting morning here at ECR…. I was up a bit late, but, the morning’s routine went smoothly, so I began to write in an unusually comfortable, clear-headed state, an event that, arguably, made the intro as coherent and organized as it is, for a change. The rant above not only went well, it went epic, and quite agreeably, from my standpoint, so, we’re good there, too. I’ve repeated myself with the poem, but, that’s merely a factor of how good it is….

That, of course, brings us to section three, with the obligatory, and, in this case, most welcome, old-school pearl…. We’re shooting today for a seven-star necklace of gems that will make me spew coffee through my nose, from laughing so hard and unexpectedly…. Let’s see what SB can come up with to accommodate us….

“It is most difficult to acquire wisdom without first having survived a whole mine field filled with folly.” — Smart Bee

“I think, therefore, I am.” — Rene Descartes
“I think I think. Therefore, I think I am.” — Smart Bee
“I think I am. That’s close enough.” — gigoid the dubious

“If you are wearing one brown and one black shoe, you have a pair like it somewhere in the closet.” — The Rule of Elderly Survival

“It happens sometimes.  People just explode.  Natural causes.” — Smart Bee

“Eternity’s a terrible thought.  I mean, where’s it all going to end?” — Tom Stoppard, _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_

“On one occasion Aristotle was asked how much educated men were superior to those uneducated: “As much,” said he, “as the living are to the dead.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning and the sea’s asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, somewhere else the tea’s getting cold. Come on Ace, we’ve got work to do…” — The Doctor, Survival [Last lines of last episode]

It seems Smart Bee had a different agenda than mine…. S’fine…. I like this one better, since I didn’t have to suffer the nasal spew…. I’ll leave you with that image, reluctantly…
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“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

Not only is this particular assertion difficult to argue against, it doesn’t need any explanation, or enhancement to make it perfect. Hence, it s the natural perfect truth with which to bring this epic Pearl to a merciful close…. I’m beat…. See you tomorrow….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.