The way to the top

Burn, Torture, Kill

https://therealnews.com/gov-ron-desantis-oversaw-torture-in-guantanamo-as-a-military-lawyer

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/05/why-are-these-top-biden-officials-stepping-down.html#more

How do we think about this word winning?  Russia says she is winning in the Ukraine for example in a Special Military Operation.  War on log scale is not instantly the nuclear winter of 100 megatons of atomic ordinance used against urban high value targets and other necessary targets.  Thus total annihilation of the adversary is ruled out, initially.  Then from the Ukrainian state's view it is winning by losing.  Winning hearts and minds and military aid and loans never to be called in.   Winning by forcing Russia to start a long war in the hopes of prevailing over the West.   The West thinks its winning by fighting a proxy war which is called poker not chess.  Tombstone rules are used so the force calculus can be calculated with even an old G4 mac.  Moves are negotiated in a kind of Crab Apple Tree Crisis fashion in the MUD.  Escalation of force is promised by the warning and the obligatory you were told ya was gonna shoot at High Noon one bright sunshiny day after all obstacles that held them down went away.   Due to the hyper-sensitivity of the West you just can't lose and in the House of The Rising Sun everyone  wins under Tombstone rules -not just LGBQT people of color and people of indeterminate pigmentation due to piercings and tattoos self mutilation mutation or bad luck with caustic bleach.  Reputations are made, money flows, life is beautiful during wartime even with trillions of debt owed by the world to the world.  Interest on the debt is paid by the body parts of casualties.  Bodies can be scavenged by the living without respect for the dead who really aren't dead since dead people are not people but a junk car lot being parted out biologically down to the 800,000 BCE last common universal genetic ancestor, the mother of Shamans, the Great Ogress Lilith.

The Crab-Apple Crisis

George MacBeth- -For Martin Bell

'To make this study concrete I have devised a ladder - a metaphorical ladder - wh indicates that there are many continuous paths between a low-level crisis and an al war.' from 'On Escalation' by Herman Kahn

Level I : Cold War

Rung 1: Ostensible Crisis

Is that you, Barnes ? Now see here, friend. From

where I am I can see your boy quite

clearly soft-shoeing along towards

my crab-apple tree. And I want you

to know I can't take that.

Rung 2: Political Economic And Diplomatic Gestures

If you don't

wipe that smile off your face, I warn you

I shall turn up the screw of my frog

transistor above the whirr of your

lawn-mower.

Rung 3: Solemn and Formal Declarations

Now I don't want to sound

unreasonable but if that boy

keeps on codding round my apple tree

I shall have to give serious thought

to taking my belt to him.

Level II : Don't Rock The Boat

Rung 4: Hardening of Positions

I thought

you ought to know that I've let the Crows

walk their Doberman through my stack of

bean canes behind your chrysanthemum

bed.

Rung 5: Show of Force

You might like a look at how my

boy John handles his catapult. At

nineteen yards he can hit your green-house

pushing four times out of five.

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Rung 6: Significant Mobilisation

I've asked

the wife to call the boy in for his

coffee, get him to look out a good

supply of small stones.

Rung 7: 'Legal' Harassment

Sure fire my lawn

spray is soaking your picnic tea-cloth

but I can't be responsible for

how those small drops fall, now can I ?

Rung 8: Harassing Acts of Violence

Your

kitten will get a worse clip on her

left ear if she come any nearer

to my rose-bushes, mam.

Rung 9: Dramatic Military Confrontations

Now see here,

sonny, I can see you pretty damn

clearly up here. If you come one step

nearer to that crab-apple tree you'll

get a taste of this strap across your

back.

Level III: Nuclear War Is Unthinkable

Rung 10: Provocative Diplomatic Break

I'm not going to waste my time

gabbing to you any longer, Barnes :

I'm taking this telephone off the

hook

Rung 1 1: All Is Ready Status

Margery, bring that new belt of

mine out on the terrace, would you ? I

want these crazy coons to see we mean

business.

Rung 12: Large Conventional War

Take that, you lousy kraut. My

pop says you're to leave our crab-apple

tree alone. Ouch ! Ow I I'll screw you for

that.

Rung 13: Large Compound Escalation

O.K., you've asked for it. The Crows'

dog is coming into your lilac

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bushes.

Rung 14: Declaration Of Limited Conventional War

Barnes. Can you hear me through this

loud-hailer? O.K. Well. look. I have

no intention of being the first

to use stones. But I will if you do.

Apart from this I won't let the dog

go beyond your chrysanthemum bed

unless your son actually starts

to climb the tree.

Rung 15: Barely Nuclear War

Why. no. I never

told the boy to throw a stone. It was

an accident, man.

Rung 16: Nuclear Ultimatum

Now see here. Why

have you wheeled your baby into the

tool-shed ? We've not thrown stones.

Rung 17: Limited Evacuation

Honey. I

don't want to worry you but their two

girls have gone round to the Jones's.

Rung 18: Spectacular Show of Force

John.

Throw a big stone over the tree, would

you : but make sure you throw wide.

Rung 1 9: Justifiable Attack

So we

threw a stone at the boy. Because he

put his foot on the tree. I warned you

now. Barnes.

Rung 20: Peaceful World-Wide Embargo Or Blockade

Listen, Billy, and you too

Marianne, we've got to teach this cod

a lesson. I'm asking your help in

refusing to take their kids in, or

give them any rights of way, or lend

them any missiles until this is

over.

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Level IV: No Nuclear Use

Rung 21: Local Nuclear War:

John. Give him a small fistful

of bricks. Make sure you hit him, but not

enough to hurt.

Rung 22: Declaration of Limited Nuclear War

Hello there. Barnes. Now

get this, man. I propose to go on

throwing stones as long as your boy is

anywhere near my tree. Now I can

see you may start throwing stones back and

I want you to know that we'll take that.

without going for your wife or your

windows unless you go for ours.

Rung 23: Local Nuclear War - Military

We

propose to go on confining our

stone-throwing to your boy beside our

tree : but we're going to let him have

it with all the stones we've got.

Rung 24: Evacuation Of Cities - About 70%

Sweetie.

Margery. Would you take Peter and

Berenice round to the Switherings?

Things are getting pretty ugly.

Level V : Central Sanctuary

Rung 25: Demonstration Attack On Zone Of Interior

We'll

start on his cabbage-plot with a strike

of bricks and slates. He'll soon see what we

could do if we really let our hands

slip.

Rung 26: Attack On Military Targets

You bastards. Sneak in and smash our

crazy paving, would you ?

Rung 27: Exemplary Attacks Against Property

We'll go for

their kitchen windows first. Then put a

brace of slates through the skylight.

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Rung 28: Attacks On Population

O.K.

Unless they pull out chuck a stone or

two into the baby's pram in the

shed.

Rung 29: Complete Evacuation - 95%

They've cleared the whole family, eh,

baby and all. Just Barnes and the boy

left. Best get your mom to go round to

the Switherings.

Rung 30: Reciprocal Reprisals

Well, if they smash the

bay-window we'll take our spunk out on

the conservatory.

Level VI : Central War

Rung 31: Formal Declaration Of General War

Now listen,

Barnes. From now on in we're going all

out against you - windows, flowers, the

lot. There's no hauling-off now without

a formal crawling-down.

Rung 32: Slow-Motion Counter-Force War

We're settling

in for a long strong pull, Johnny. We'd

better try and crack their stone stores one

at a time. Pinch the bricks, plaster the

flowers out and smash every last

particle of glass they've got.

Rung 33: Constrained Reduction

We'll have

to crack that boy's throwing-arm with a

paving-stone. Just the arm, mind. I don't

want him killed or maimed for life.

Rung 34: Constrained Disarming Arttack

Right, son.

We'll break the boy's legs with a strike of

bricks. If that fails it may have to come

to his head next.

Rung 35: Counter Force With Avoidance

There's nothing else for

it. We'll have to start on the other

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two up at the Jones's. If the wife

and the baby gets it, too, it can't

be helped.

Level VII : City Targeting

Rung 36: Counter-City War

So it's come to the crunch. His

Maggie against my Margery. The

kids against the kids.

Rung 37: Civilian Devastation

We can't afford

holds barred any more. I'm going all

out with the slates, tools, bricks, the whole damn

shooting-match.

Rung 38: Spasm Or Insensate War

All right, Barnes. This is it.

Get out the hammer, son : we need our

own walls now. I don't care if the whole

block comes down. I'll get that maniac

if it's the last thing I - Christ. 0. Christ.

(George MacBeth's 'Doomsday Book' recently published by the Scorpion Press is discussed in the editorial on page 2)