How can anybody be sure of anything in this day and time when the world seems to have gone mad and we find ourselves collectively in the position of the hero/heroine of the horror movie who hears a noise. Indeed, the audience can see that the monster is lurking in the bushes (no pun intended) just outside the door, the soundtrack is heavy with ominous portent, and with innocent naïveté and a handy flashlight, the star of the movie puts his or her hand on the doorknob. The audience groans with the agony of knowing and collectively shouts "DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!" But, unfortunately, the movie world is not connected to the world of the audience, and no warning can cross that divide.

In the old days, movie heroes and heroines generally always survived such mistakes by dint of clever scripting. In more recent years, you can never be sure anymore: the hero or heroine is likely to die - reflecting real life - because of their stupidity.

The archetypal Palestinian father and child - courtesy of Israel

3rd of March. Palestine. Occupied territory. Another day of carnage and Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

Another day of trying to keep the emotions of outrage below the neck, because judging from acquaintances' responses and comments to Gideon Levy's article in Haaretz, "self-hating Jews" like us are "the cancer of the state that weaken Israelis from within until they are finally destroyed" and should be tried for treason, found guilty and shot by a firing squad. Interesting to notice that this is a typical deviant behavior: to accuse others of what you are yourself.

It is dangerous to express sympathy toward Palestinians when the whole country is intoxicated with murderous solidarity and calling for a complete annihilation of the "devious and heartless animals who's mothers send their children to act as human shields, while Israeli children wet in the bed in fear of hearing another 'Color Red' alert". Poor Israeli babies and Ashkelon citizens, who suffer from anxiety attacks while Palestinians die like flies. Because clearly their lives cost much less than the lives of the brave and moral residents of the "only safe place for Jews".

The alarming irony is that American voters are completely oblivious to the fact that they may have voted men into the highest office of the land who were probably suffering from a very dangerous form of mental illness. Despite the lack of a psychiatric diagnosis, it is still possible to reach a tentative diagnosis for these presidents based on the multiplicity of symptoms clearly indicated by their behaviour.

After reading the book Political Ponerology, A science on the nature of evil adjusted for political purposes by Andrzej Łobaczewski, I wished to interview the author. However, given that he was sick, he was unable to respond to my questions except in the shortest way, a single paragraph. Fortunately, I was able to interview Laura Knight-Jadczyk and Henry See, editors of the book who discussed the questions with him via telephone and were thus able to speak on his behalf.

I think everyone should read this book because it provides the keys necessary for understanding events that we often can't comprehend. The book describes the origins of "Evil", its true nature, and illustrates how it spreads throughout society.

Mr. Łobaczewski spent years observing those in power whose actions were the incarnation of evil, people described in psychological terms as anti-social, psychopaths, or sociopaths.

©Unknown

We have looked at the cycle of good times and bad times that affects nations and countries, known as the Hysteroidal Cycle. The cycle gets its name from the similarities between the psychological state known as hysteria that affects individuals and the psychological state of a society during the course of the hysteroidal cycle.

You have probably noticed that certain aspects of American society are becoming more and more hysterical. One of the most noticeable is the overreaction of police, using extreme measures for very ordinary incidents. Some of the following come to mind:

• A woman from Iceland on a shopping trip to New York City is arrested and humiliated for a visa violation in 1995.
• A man in a pizza place in Boston gets the SWAT team called in on him because he looked "jittery". Turns out he was executive director of Geneva-based U.N. Watch, Hillel Neuer.
• Drivers are being tasered for taking too long to get out of their cars when stopped for traffic violations. One man was recently killed by a taser in Minnesota.
• But that hasn't stopped people from having taser parties and they can now get a holster that doubles as a mp3 player.
• A mother was shot and killed in her own home as she held her one year old child in her arms.

Today I read Paul Craig Robert's new essay on the state of the U.S. I couldn't have said it better, though I already figured out that 9/11 was an inside job and Roberts is having a hard time going there. Roberts points out with succinct clarity that:

Freedom and democracy in America have been reduced to no-fly lists, spying without warrants, arrests without warrants or evidence, permanent detention despite the constitutional protection of habeas corpus, torture despite the prohibition against self-incrimination--the list goes on and on.

[...]

Present and former high government officials, with top secret security clearances, cannot fly with a tube of toothpaste or a bottle of water despite the absence of any evidence that extreme measures imposed by "airport security" makes flying safer.

Elderly American citizens with walkers and young mothers with children are meticulously searched because US Homeland Security cannot tell the difference between an American citizen and a terrorist.

All Americans should note the ominous implications of the inability of Homeland Security to distinguish an American citizen from a terrorist.

When Airport Security cannot differentiate a US Marine General recipient of the Medal of Honor from a terrorist, Americans have all the information they need to know.

©Signs of the Times

In the previous article in this series, we introduced the concept of the hysteroidal cycle and saw that good times contain the seeds of bad times, while bad times invite people to return to analysis and critical thinking necessary to pull themselves out of the crisis. However, the insiders are also aware of the hysteroidal cycle. They are aware that certain shocks can serve to awaken people from their slumber, can provoke individuals onto the path for answers. To counter the positive aspect of bad times or periods of shocks, they have done vast research into how, when, and for how long shocks need to be administered in order to keep people submissive.

©Unknown

A society can be the custodian of a vast quantity of knowledge, but if that knowledge is not spread out, held, and utilized by the entire population, it can do little good. It remains theoretical and is not applied. If the knowledge remains concentrated in the hands of the few, it has the same consequences as the concentration of money, resources, or business ownership in the hands of a few. It becomes a lever of power and oppression, not freedom and justice. A monopoly of knowledge is created.

Such is the situation in the United States today. A small few have real knowledge of what is going on in the world. The others are fed a diet of lies, half-truths, and wishful thinking.

Exiled leader fights back at Chinese attempt to control Buddhist selection process

©Mary Altaffer/AP

The Dalai Lama.

The centuries-old tradition of choosing a new Dalai Lama may be about to change from the mysteries of reincarnation to the realities of a referendum to hold off the increasing influence of the Chinese government in the process.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader yesterday offered the prospect of a referendum before he dies to decide how to pick the Himalayan people's next living Buddha - incensing China which insists on the right to approve incarnations.

©Atlanta Journal Constitution

We have already established in the first articles in this series that the insiders are psychologically deviant. What do we mean?

A healthy world view is one that sees the world as it is. Only by seeing the world as objectively as possible can we come up with plans and strategies that fit the facts and that enable us to navigate successfully. If our understanding of reality is wrong, then success can only be subject to chance. Such a view is understood in the sciences. It is obvious that an hypothesis or an experiment that does not take into account the reality being tested will fail. Of course, even failures help us to learn about the world; we eliminate erroneous possibilities and theories. Our knowledge can thus advance, but only if we recognize the error of our ways.