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In a situation of societal disequilibrium such as that which preceded the regimes of Hitler, Lenin, Mussolini, Franco and Salazar, the political centre ceased to enjoy the respect of the people in such wise as to drain it of vitality by migration to various ideological extremes. These strident extremes proposed themselves as solutions to a perceived abnegation or absence of moral authority in the centre which one might understand in Chinese terms as losing the Mandate of Heaven. The various proposals -- such as the Far Right, the Far Centre, and the Far Left -- variously smelled the blood of the centre in the water and knew with absolute certainty that they had best exert themselves or lose out to another proposal, with approximately the same consequences as often befell competitors for a kingdom's throne: losing it all, up to and including their heads.  The array of Far Right, Far Centre, and Far Left may be understood as a sort of tripod with adjustable legs which necessarily dif...

  Something very special happened over a century ago in Lake Tarawera, New Zealand which one would like to share, as it illustrates something extraordinary about the human mind not just singly but collectively. Here, first of all, is an excellent painting -- not of what happened, but of what happened a week later -- of the Mt Tarawera eruption: [ 2:02 PM ] [ 2:02 PM ] This is in mid-June, and the painting is by Charles Blomfeld. A week earlier, the most famous supernatural event in modern Zealand history occurred. A mixed party of Pakeha (Whites) and Maori were on a tourist outing in the lake; this happened on the same day as the waters of Lake Tarawera suddenly rose... and then fell. Later, during their outing, multiple witnesses saw a waka manned by Maori in native dress rowing across the lake; this vessel was headed directly for Mt Tarawera. Do not pass Go. Go directly to Mt Tarawera. Do not collect 200$. This is the 1888 painting by Kennett Watkins of the incident. [ 2:03 PM ] ...