Fratricide.

If you think politics are strange now, check out this passage from William Cleveland's book " A History of the Modern Middle East": " During the first four centuries of Ottoman rule, the royal princes received military and administrative training as in the various provinces of Anatolia. Each of the princes was trained as if he would be the next sultan; each had an equal claim to the throne. When the reigning sultan died, the struggle for power began as the contending princes rushed toward Istanbul. The first prince to secure the support of the support of the royal court and the imperial guard in the capital city was proclaimed sultan. In order to prevent continuing rival claims to the throne, the Ottomans adopted the practice of fratricide; once the victorious prince had assumed the office of sultan, he ordered his brothers killed. This was a practical matter of state, and justification for the practice was encapsulated in the Ottoman political statement that " the death of a prince is less regrettable than the loss of a province."

What good can come of a broken umbrella? Maybe a lot. Maybe a damn good book for example...... Today as I was walking home in the midst of a terrible typhoon and mourning the damage that had just been inflicted on my umbrella, I suddenly had the inspiration for the words that follow: All across the world, in 729,443,984 different locations the 50 meter high holografic image of Kenichiro Ali Khan simultaneously sputtered and then rose into view 15 meters above the ground. The image began to speak all across the globe in 345 different languages: " Have you ever wondered why an umbrella has to break? Have you ever wished for the day when an umbrella would never break? For the day when a spaceplane would never crash? Have you ever longed for the day when perfection will reign in the land of humankind? Now, we can have perfection in our lifetime. Tomorrow each and everyone of you have the opportunity to help usher in a time of perfect happiness. A time when all is right, all of the time, everywhere. The right decision will be taken in Mombai and in Montana. In Andalucia and in Hokaido. In Ougadougou and in Uzbekistan. Tomorrow, the Perfect Party will be voted into office across the planet. A new dawn of I-2 cloning , pervasive mind oneing and global mental standards will be legalized. It will be here tomorrow and it will be here forever! Thank you for realizing the dream that was first sparked by Darwin, that was longed for during the Long Age of Breaking Up and during the recent Acrilic wars. Thank you for bringing an end to history in our time. I, Kenichiro Ali Khan, supreme leader of the supreme party.. The Perfect Party, thank you for making the future possible today. Thank you, and may the gods bless you , everyone of you."Everywhere on the earth the hologram vanished and the sounds of the natural world, which included the sounds of 32 billion humans , could be heard again after the din of the words gushing from the holographic image of Kenichiro Ali Khan had come to an end. Everything was as it was before , and yet everything was different. These are the words that raced through my mind as I rambled through the typhoon. I also had the conviction that next year, or at the very latest in 2008 , I will put together a great book. Or, who knows, a big bunch of trite garbage. Anyway, something is going to happen.........