Leslie Van Houten, former follower of Charles Manson, faces her 19th parole hearing. Leslie is an example of misspent youth: drugs, excessive sex and ritualistic murdering. Years ago, back in the late 60's, she was convicted of particularly brutal crimes, where, upon the direction of Chuck Manson, knifed some people. The crime was particular shocking --multiple stab wounds delivered to the victims, blood smeared in messages on the wall. Leslie was primarily involved in assaulting Rosemary LaBianca, the other person killed there was her husband Leno.
Initially, Chuck and his followers were going to get the gas chamber, but the death penalty was overturned and they were confined to life imprisonment instead. Leslie appears to have been a good girl since her incarceration in the early 1970s, no reports of shanking, forced lesbian sex dates or even incidences of fermenting oranges in the toilet. She has positive psychological reports and has been active in self-help groups for elderly women inmates. For some who go to prison, there is indeed redemption.
A charismatic hippie fringe figure, Chuck not only earned converts who would kill upon command, but garnered respect among the counterculture community at large. During his lengthy trial, various slogans were chanted and other symbols of support were displayed time and again inside and outside the courtroom by followers and sympathizers.
But a strange thing happened in the intervening years from then to perhaps the early 80's . Chuck went to seed, abandoned and renounced by his followers. This could not have happened if Chuck had the pill dropped on him; as a martyr, he would have died being revered by many as THE dynamic hippie rebel who stuck it to the MAN.
Instead, every few years, he has been looked in upon by various television interviewers. It is a study of a person slowly going crackers. Not a whole lot of these interviews are recalled by myself, but I vaguely remember seeing a small withered man removed from his cell, rambling extensively about his “music.” The guard, when questioned about his dedication to these philharmonics, sort of CHUCKled and dismissed the assertion. Apparently Chuck was just saying that for the interview. He was not spending his time in a disciplined way to properly learn his guitar and the other musical instruments he was allowed to use. This scraggly, withered character no longer appeared to house his former menace and was literally being consumed by age and gravity.
If there ever was an argument against the death penalty, just look at Leslie and Chuck.
The October 27 2008 issue if the New York Times includes an article Editorial entitled
“As China Goes, So Goes ...”
It goes on to describe China’s immense holdings, and amount of other things to include speculations on how they can help in the current worldwide fiscal crises. As usual, blog commentators have been invited chimed in and left their remarks. Among the comments are pieces of very entertaining quotes below:
“...hope that when Barack Obama becomes president, he will sit down - without preconditons - with China's leaders and talk about what both countries can do that will be mutually beneficial.”
Talking and negotiating certainly have their place, but so does stalling. Stalling is the time honored tactic guised as diplomacy to put off the other party as long as possible in order to keep doing what is already being done without changing or stopping. To think Barack is going to sit down with the Chinese and suddenly change all that is assigning him godlike powers indeed, “ObahMessiah.” I hope this NYTblog commentator won’t be let down.
And so a response comment of my own:
The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Barack, like all the other predecessors before him, can do all the talking he wants. He can make all the agreements that paper and ink will hold. BUT it remains to be seen if any ACTUAL Chinese progress will occur.
China was able to enrich itself immensely by artificially devaluing its currency against the world market and thereby transfer huge amounts of wealth from the western world to itself. Its good were priced cheap, because of this, foreign currency poured in. Bitter complaints have been lodged for years. In response, China allowed its currency to appreciate a bit. In view of current world conditions, China stopped this appreciation. China once took a step on the thousand mile journey, and is now STANDING STILL.
Another writes as below:
“Considering that China is just now recovering from the plundering of western powers (remember the Opium War?), I don't blame the Chinese for staying somewhat isolated.”
My response to the above:
I personally don’t know of anyone who still personally recalls the Opium War of 1839 to 1842 or even the one from 1856 to 1860. But there are quite a few who remember the 1954 Great Leap Forward and 1960’s Cultural Revolution which killed by some estimates 20-43 million people all across China. It would seem those events would have more impactive effect on current China.
But then, there is probably a few Americans still upset about what Pancho" Villa did in Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916 and his subsequent eluding of General Pershing’s Punitive Expedition.
This is the comment area for the website www.LostYearsofChrist.com
and www.SteamChip.com
Did Jesus Christ, under the name of Saint Isa or Saint Issa travel to far regions of Persia India, Nepal and even Tibet?
English tradition even holds that Christ, as a boy, traveled to the southwestern regions with his uncle.
Share interest in the Lost years of Christ! Want to comment on some of the pictures in this display, or point toward some of your own research about the Lost or Unknown Years of Christ?
Michael A Palmer (MAP): ..... Random Guy: Whats going on with Superman? Or whats going on with Lois Lane? After a strong showing of Margot Kidder, Teri Hatcher, and the one whose on Smallville, she seems seems way too weak and not the hard burnt cynical reporter expected of a big city daily.
Seems she's more suited as Spidermans girlfriend. How about that woman who was Commander Cain on the new Galactica series? She should have been Lois or someone like her.
MAP: Good special effects though, and the Lex Luther character, speaking of the new Galactica isn't he one of the Cylon characters there? He has that that perfect blend beady eyed skeevyness and sophisticated cruelty combined with intelligent refinement. Yup, Lois is weak, and seemed a bit young. that was the old ensign Roe on the Next Generation Star Trek, looks like she could have been a Lois Lane to me!
Random Guy: And Superman himself wasn't bad, he looked the part. Too bad about Christopher Reeve.
