Universal Power Syndrome

By Johnny D. Symon

Early last Friday morning I began to write a new ed, but this particular Friday morning found me in Southern Spain. Next month is Carnival time, something I happen to enjoy immensely, but prior to all the fun and games something else occurs ... power problems!

To stage carnivals in big cities is a cinch, but Andalusian White Villages are usually not equipped to handle the extra power demand, therefore a certain amount of tweaking goes on to augment the normal supply, and from my experience, or should I say, the experiences some of my acquaintances have suffered, this kind of juice squeezing appears to be by the hands of inexperienced juicers! Usually you find that the power cuts, then returns with a surge, and it can go on for hours, even days.

Two years back I heard of instances where the surge was so great, home owners in my district found themselves with burned out computers, ice boxes, radios, air conditioning systems, TVs, etc., and in this part of the world it's nigh on impossible to persuade the power company that they were to blame. That's why I'm so well equipped with UPS and anti-surge stuff it's highly unlikely anything of this nature would cause lasting damage, nevertheless, and in spite of all my numerous precautions, a series of power salvos battered their way through my first and second line of defense, which caused my computer to close down. When it started up again its date and time represented a space where the late Jimmy Hendrix had played one of his last concerts. The document I was writing on was corrupted but swiftly repaired, then immediately following my Jimmy Hendrix Experience further salvos from my Spanish juicers and low battery on my notebook led me to believe that an archive might be a better proposition.

My wife spoke on the power subject later that day to a close Spanish friend, who operates an insurance company, and her friend described that days unworkable power situation as "horroroso," like ourselves she also recalled a very special New Year power experience three years back when most of the town lost its electric supply at around 9 pm New Year's Eve and found themselves in darkness till 4 am the next morning. To this day we remain unenlightened as to the reason why. I guess it can only be described as a kind of Latino Experience.

Every once in a while I begin to feel like some kind of Coltrane or Miles Davis, for to survive on a business level in Andalusia requires a whole load of improvising. Stateside you just jump out of bed, eat, clean up, then do your day, whereas in Latino-land everyone else feels responsible to "do" your day themselves. Somehow your own hive of industry gets buzzed over by a strange swarm of uninvited B's! Kill-your-day B's! But you know something? Spain ain't the kind of place where you can love, hate or leave it, it eats into your bones until it becomes a part of you, you learn the art of forgiveness more readily here than in many other parts of the world, and in spite of some ingrained faults underlying that peculiar Latin temperament, its pros always outweigh the cons.

Last Wednesday I dropped into Eroski supermarket for my usual supply of Algerian "Harissa." On arrival I stopped outside the place to gaze down and around the great city of Algeciras. My supermarket is high up on a hill, with good views, not just of the city, but of Gibraltar, and North Africa.

Eroski's latest magazine had just arrived (Consumer Eroski.) I grabbed two copies because an old friend always requests one. With one thing and the other happening in my life I only managed to open the rag at the weekend. One section I found to be of greater interest than the rest because it was an interview with none other than José Antonio Maldonado, Spanish meteorologist and weather guy for TVE. He's held that position for twenty years. I've always admired his style of presentation and his precise manner. But truth be known, I knew nothing of the man's life and personal views, the article therefore was like a breath of fresh air.

It's real easy to form a belief that Spain is filled with communists and people who can't think for themselves. In fact if last Sunday in Morón de la Frontera, Seville, were to be used as an example, it would only strengthen the above view, because a demonstration was held outside of that region's US Base, organized by the IU Party (Communists) and members of the Socialist Party, the general idea being that the Base should be closed. I saw one placard that stated in English, "Yankees go Home," and I thought to myself, "Does that mean Southern boys are still welcome?" But no, the truth is, they're too stupid to know anything because the only interesting thing about the demonstration was its date; It's too close to the General Election in March to be coincidental, for also, coincidentally, did those self-same political groups stage similar protests outside of US Military Bases on the Spanish mainland shortly before the elections in 2004. Stirring up anti-American sentiment prior to election time in Spain gets votes. But due to a disastrous four year term of rampant Socialism, this demonstration exudes an air of desperation.

But Spanish meteorologist and weather guy, José Antonio Maldonado, represents for me the remnants of a once strong and proud people who built a nation from the ground up that remains one of the oldest nations in Europe; 1500 years is a long spell in relation to the ever changing nations world-wide. Admittedly this land contains a sordid past like many others, yet nonetheless remains more or less as it was 1500 years ago. People like author and journalist, Arturo Perez Reverte, the late Francisco Umbral, and Spanish Conservative party leader Mariano Rajoy, are for me prime examples of old Spanish strength and fortitude. They and Mr Maldonado are people of principle, courage, and the intelligence to apply those gifts, the magazine Consumer Eroski interview with José Antonio exemplified this man's characteristics.

I see no need to present a complete account of the interview since you all can read it yourself on the above link, but a prime example of what to expect is his views on Al Gore's Climate Change Crusade in Spain. Gore invited José to attend one of his conventions in Seville, but José declined because neither he, nor any other of those invited, had any say or input during the conference ... Gore wants ten a year, free of charge, but Gore himself is to receive 200,000 euros per gig! In other words old Al is set to make about $2.5 million a year in Spain alone just for presenting fabrication fairy work that no one has a right to contradict.

Another thing that displeased José was that Al the Global Guru flies everywhere in a private jet, and his Nobhell Puss award is something he can't quite figure out, "I can't figure out how this man could have earned the NPP." And you know something? I can't figure it out either, can you? That boy gives me no peace, and I sure as hell won't give him any either because everything he says contradicts the Bible, though then again, everyone who believes him have one way or the other rejected the Bible too, meaning that they're a prime set of candidates for that old Lichtenberg sentiment, that goes;

"If a head and a book come into collision
and the resulting sound is hollow,
the fault need not necessarily be that of the book!"

By stroke of good fortune someone whose head is far from hollow presented me with an excellent ed last week. At first glance I thought that good old boy John Stapler had made some kind of mistake because if it's Russian I'm on guard, but no, it was a good choice and possibly one of the best in its category. Written by Dr Oleg Sorokhtin who, unlike Al Gore, is highly qualified in this field, and therefore to be believed when he says;

"Carbon dioxide cannot be bad for the climate. On the contrary, it is food for plants, and so is beneficial to life on Earth. Bearing out this point was the Green Revolution — the phenomenal global increase in farm yields in the mid-20th century. Numerous experiments also prove a direct proportion between harvest and carbon dioxide concentration in the air."

I wonder if old Oleg will receive a Nobel Prize for presenting the truth on climate? Private jet perhaps? Even a lousy 2.5 million bucks a year? Well at least old Oleg can rest in the knowledge as I do that the world is not a fair and just place, it's a planet full of folks who prefer to call evil good and good evil, in fact the good doctor sheds light on those particular dudes when he said;

"As we know, hothouse gases, in particular, nitrogen peroxide, warm up the atmosphere by keeping heat close to the ground. Advanced in the late 19th century by Svante A. Arrhenius, a Swedish physical chemist and Nobel Prize winner, this theory is taken for granted to this day and has not undergone any serious check.

It determines decisions and instruments of major international organizations — in particular, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Signed by 150 countries, it exemplifies the impact of scientific delusion on big politics and economics. The authors and enthusiasts of the Kyoto Protocol based their assumptions on an erroneous idea. As a result, developed countries waste huge amounts of money to fight industrial pollution of the atmosphere. What if it is a Don Quixote's duel with the windmill?"

I reckon Al and his deluded pals really are playing the part of Don Quixote, but the difference is plain to see as the original player had no hope of getting rich with his foolishness, but his successors certainly are; There's gold in them thar lies ... Our gold that is, for we have no say in their foolish Eco-illogical Crusade. We're voiceless dissenters along with José Antonio Maldonado and Dr Oleg Sorokhtin. Many of us had to sit back and suffer sub zero temperatures this past winter while continuing to hear all there was to know about "baking the world to death."

Hey, I've just realized this entire ed involves power; electric power, power of nature, and even undeserved power, the power of the corrupt and the power of lies. Too much electricity will corrupt computers and other electrical goods, and the power of nature can bring forth life, then at times it may take it away, but when men gain control of too much power undeservedly, the power corrupts not just themselves truly but also those who honor and accept them. In effect we're witnessing a reverse UPS. It's uninterrupted, unfortunately, and goes by the name of Universal Power Syndrome.

© Johnny D. Symon