Saturday 31 March 2018

Don't Worry


Jokers, fakers, liars, cheats. Null values. Men clinging to the peripheries of life, praying for untruth. Their hidden disdain for life being channeled away from human beings and onto the surrounding environment in the form of mass extinction and earth poison. Plagues of starvation and death tolls of war exchanged for islands of plastic and seas of soot-choked skies. How will we clean it up?

Flashbacks to Brent Lockwood dressed in a blond wig harassing me in bed very soon after I started getting off thinking of Melanie's boobs in 7th grade. Always spying and waiting for the perfect moment to trigger. Most men here were weird and desperate. Openly flinging their junk around in the open, expecting praise. Invading privacy, expecting control. Excreting filth from their mouths and minds, expecting validation. What world was this? Where had I landed? I felt drowned by their sickness, surrounded by their perfect schizophrenia. I absorbed it and spat it back in disjointed ways. Our conversations were broken and our eyes never made contact. I couldn't even feel my heart. All I knew was it felt like I was playing a sad game for show. The purpose of their game was to absorb cruelty and shame, process an endless convoy of guilt trips, and regurgitate back to their rotten faces a malformed version of whatever was the expectation of how they thought I should react to their contrived scenarios. Mostly it was just awkward smiles and feelings of anxiousness. I didn't have to know to know. The evidence was in their body language, their facial expressions and their meekness. The few true ones there were made sense right away, but they were rare. Was there an outside to this empty sphere of delusion?

Even now they fought to backsplash me with infected ideas. 'Frames.... Strings...' the man on the escalator right behind me muttered frenetically to his wife. The sharp hints of self-validation in his tone were assuaged by his wife's submissive whimpers of affirmation, though in truth she was mentally sidestepping the notion of fun altogether. The constant ego-maintenance was mentally draining. In many cases, a mind spent on smokescreens and obfuscation worked out for the man, to better restrain her in a state of low-energy thralldom. Would either of them ever be happy?

Living through a Chinese water torture effect of whispers and side-shows, like the dude in the ratty car getting sucked off by his gr friend driving through an intersection right in front of me. Random buzz-kill commentary from strangers who only want attention (the bad kind).
It's hard work to mentally unclog all the filth. Need to do lots of stretching, meditation, and enjoy good music. Sometimes you turn into a catastrophe that needs to be broken through. It feels like the human Rogue Rococo popping thistle tea on Kel'Thuzad at 50% hp. Wearing black and red blood-fang armor, ripping through your terrible mess, the second wind of a tangled heart slipping through a few beats before the muscles go tight and the feeling goes cold again, eventually getting lost in a sea of digging and repetition that has some meaning to somebody always analyzing but never feeling, always imitating but never experiencing from the point of view they were partially programmed to subliminally dissect. Would they ever stop obsessing and micro-analyzing the misguided rock of their own brainwashing?

So much time with these folks go buy and I begin to forget what real human conversations are like. What is the warmth felt around real friends? The communication of positivity and constructive thoughts? The language of love? Muscle memory and DNA expression says I won't lose these things forever, but some things are better off this way. Some things are better left unspoken. Me? I choose to be happy.

Wednesday 28 March 2018


Laying on the back porch in the townhouse across the overpass. Pain poring down. I would just walk everywhere in the rain with headphones on. It was the only think to keep me sane. In computer engineering class we built switches out of old breadboards and logic gates. I ate Jalapeno Chips and talked about World of Warcraft for about 80% of the time. I studied rarely, but managed to round out a solid 60-70% on most things. School just didn't seem real. None of it had for awhile. It was like drifting along on autopilot waiting for something interesting to happen, but my heartstrings knotted up in harness of mental slavery made the feelings for most things less than idea. They watchers hovered around like flies for the most part, but themselves weren't very annoying as long as they left me alone. Brent Lockwood was always trying to get under my skin, but I stopped giving a fuck long ago. Nowadays I just played WoW to pass the time. In the game world, I could block out all the negativity and focus on play. I still wanted a woman the whole time. I stared a lot, and didn't really know what I felt other than confusion and tension. My body and mind were not healthy, and a lot of healing and change were needed to get things back on track, which wouldn't become apparent for at least another decade or so. Right now I'm swarmed and flooded in O's, entertaining their dead-end beliefs for what seemed like a century. I could escape them mentally pretty easily, just by throwing on some headphones and wandering around in the dark, the rain, the sun, or the snow. I walked to alex's house a lot to hang out and build warhammer, listen to rammstien, and build computers. Sometimes I didn't even feel like hanging out, but wanted to escape the bald bastard Brent and go for a long walk through all the twisting paths leading from Kanata to Katimavik. I often spent my weekends in escape. There seemed to be something hidden and painful in life, but I was happy nonetheless. I liked physics class and computer engineering. History was also my favourite. There were a few people I felt I could trust, who weren't fake. Alex was one of them. Roman and Rex were others. I didn't make many friends with women, except for the teachers. Ms Cianci. Another teacher who had a profound impact on me later on was Ms Bryans. I will never forget those long treks to class in the morning. I would cut across the golf course and hike through a plot of wild land along the way. It was like a tangled old forest in the middle of suburbia, the place to breath fresh air and feel part of nature for a change.

Tuesday 27 March 2018


    Steve.... Dim..... Neo..... what was going through their brains? The days licked on like popcicle sticks. Nothing changed much around the house, which had been built in the 60s and was now falling apart like a sloppily built beaver dam in the midst of spring showers. What, if anything, have you accomplished in this time? Decades of events and triggers rolled past like yesterday's waste. Back in 1992, they had the damn kid setup near the house on Tamarack Street with a big plastic baseball bat, and jeff swim faked out the catch. The glass paneling in the entryway near the front door blew open. This had been accomplished by micro-C4 explosives planted in the glass itself, but was intended to give the impression that the kid had knocked out the glass from hitting it with the bat. Later on, perhaps weeks from that event, the kid was trying to cross the street. He was riding one of those 3-wheeled bikes from Zellers. Char stood on the opposite side of the road, and hollered at him to cross. He didn't want to cross, it went against his gut, but he did anyway, just to get across the road. Then, a few months later, some crazy fuck driving a shitty car would cross in front of Jim Fiddler's blue pickup, being driven by jeff swim. The event was to demonstrate symmetry breaking in the form of an adult male pretending to have been sticken by a pair of scissors across his forehead. The scissors were claimed to have been atop the dash at the moment of impact. The man, bloodied from the forehead down, red smears across his face, stumbled from the vehicle, looking dazed and confused. The kid, who was probably about 7 or 8 at the time, looked up at the injured man, who was in fact not injured at all but prepared to look as such. Jeff swim spoke on apologetically to the man, who eventually climbed back in his car and left. The damage to Jim fiddler's truck, which Jeff swim had been driving at the time, was little more than a dent of blue plastic from the hood, which they would joke about later. They would joke about the blue plastic notch breaking out of the hood at the expense of a fully damaged vehicle with a man who'd had his face torn up by a pair of scissors on the dashboard repeatedly, like the event had some sort of mystical significance.

fucking steve upstairs like a rat faced son of shit. Every second of the day squeaking the goddamn floors with Dim like pieces of junk. In their minds, they were emulating acts of god. God's footsteps. God's noises. Creaks. Squeals in the wood. Evidence of divine intervention coming from above. How fucking lost and delusional can you be? What the fuck is wrong with such human beings as this? Could they not see beyond their own pathetic blindness? I remember when i was as braindead as these ridiculous saps. I doubt they'll ever see the truth, and i doubt I'll ever care. They're sad, pathetic people, and will be easily forgotten. Peace, you fucking creeps. Please die in a fire.

Friday 9 March 2018

Poetry Projekt 4/20/06

Excerpts


Narrative:

The Barbaric North

They march in numbers unseen across the land
Uniform in movement, shields raised to the sun
Their battle is imminent, victory is at hand
They will charge and kill until the battle’s won

The northern warrior moves through the night
Moving swift against the gusting snow
Great bolts of lightning strike with might
Unstoppable waves of wind will blow

A villages he visits, a great force he creates
To defy the transgressors among the land
They march from their huts, through the castle gates
An army of few, but vigilant they stand

The warrior leads on, they seek glory and blood
They shall purge the vile under his command
Trudging forward through the seas of mud
The journey may be too much to withstand

Cloaked in black, surrounded by sin
The enemy is sure, laying in wait
Their sinister general, the evil within
Assured that his victory will be great

At the edge of the forest, the armies descend
Shrouded in thick mists, the night seemed surreal
Hatred develops as the two forces contend
They clash in a swarm of glimmering steel

The battle ensues, madness takes hold
Confusion and death become the stage
It is barbaric to see their fury unfold
The warriors are consumed with rage

“The battle is ours” he bellows aloud
The traitors retreat and cower in fear
The villagers, now warriors, are standing proud
The carnage has ended, they let out a cheer

Defiantly, he sheathes his ebon blade
Slaked with the blood of fallen foes
Behold the field where a legend was made
Bodies of the slain, laying in rows

Never again did the evil return
Their existence is no longer known
The village now lives free of concern
The northern warrior sits upon his throne.
























Ballad.

Assassin

On the cobblestone her movements are light,
As she moves across
Cautiously moving slipping through the night,
Her gain is their loss.

With dagger in hand she begins to stare,
Her target is near.
He approaches, she begins to prepare,
She can sense his fear.

So precise and deadly are her thoughts,
He strolls unaware.
That must be the man, Sir Edward Von. Kots,
He begins to swear.

“These people are mad to think of me wrong,”
He complains aloud.
“I haven’t asked for taxes in so long,”
He seems very proud.

She knows his lies, manipulative ways,
As blatant as sin.
Something must be done, her mind sets ablaze,
The anger sets in.

She is so close, and in range to attack
He turns, she strikes bold.
He falls quick, and hits the ground with a clap
The night is very cold



The families he’s ruined without remorse,
Friends he’s betrayed.
A cause for great anger, this was the source,

Met with death by the blade.

Tuesday 6 March 2018

In my dreams



The infared beam on patient A's keyboard was hacked. It now projected beams of dream-invasion infared generated by Brent Lockwood and his military satellite command network, paid for by the tax payers of the Canadian government. Brent aligned with Jeff Swim, Robin Blair, Char Harding, Emery Truscott, and even Gary Ransom, to prepare for the dream invasion event powered by enhanced occulus Rift technology. Patient A needed to be cracked, and even if he wrote about it in frustration at a later time, the negative attention would be enough to satiate the negative-attention seeking tendencies of all parties involved. They dream-projection software, programmed in part by Jamie Ateyo, subtly manipulated the dream state of the target, projecting familiar places and faces to extract vital information. Had patient A been aware of what was going on, he would have disabled the light pathway by turning off the keyboard, because this shit had been bothering him for months. Within the dream, the toxic actors deliberated with patient A in familiar surroundings, trying to question him, poking, prying, being true to their nature of annoyance and conflict. Was that their goal really? To be stupid and annoying as fuck? The dreams were all the same. Grandma Swim's trailer, familiar housing from past experimentation. They all worked in sync, like malignant slime trying to digest the target. Brent had his hands on the military control satellite syncing dream data with visual reconstruction data packets being beamed via infared. Like a tumor, the scum worked their way into the REM wavelengths of patient A's mind frame.
It didn't matter what they said or did in the dreams, or that the locations were always the same, it was all the same filth and annoyance.

In the dream, patient A recalled attempts to embarrass him, Jeff swim reading out emails. 'Hey look at what you wrote here, remember???' The attempt at instigating embarrassment and frustration was thwarted by patient A visualizing the dream within the context of the Valkyria Chronicles game map, where you were able to maintain a bird's eye view on the mission following a player action. Thus, the dream ended and patient A awoke, thinking to himself 'could you do me a favor and please fuck off, you fucking scum?' This shit had been going on for months, if not years, but yet their malignancy persisted, and would likely continue to persist until the very last second.  

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Friedenspolitik






Examining the Leadership of Bismarck; Chancellor of Germany.




Dallas Swim
CHY4U
04/05/08
Mrs. Bryans

Otto von Bismarck was one of Germany’s greatest political leaders. He designed many cunning policies, agreements, and compromises which allowed for the unification of Germany. The vastness of his achievement is difficult to analyze, but above all else he was an excellent leader of men because he knew how to get what he wanted in a timely fashion. He was able to easily negotiate through most obstacles with diplomacy, and the issues he could not solve with words he solved with blood and iron. In doing so, he was able to transform Germany into one of the most advanced and wealthy nations in the world. Therefore, Bismarck’s leadership skills were of the highest caliber, making him one of the most important men in German history. As one historian puts it;

He conceived his purpose to be the consolidation of past gains and the maintenance of Germany’s military and economic strength. So massive and awesome was his personality, so obvious his achievement, that the world saw Germany a great monolith of strength and power. (Dill, 146)

Bismarck’s legacy doubtlessly justifies his title of the ‘Iron Chancellor’. In a series of three successful military campaigns, Bismarck was able to unify Germany and establish the German Empire. One of the earliest and most prominent examples of his leadership occurred during the years 1863-1866. In these years Bismarck was able ally the two strongest forces in the German Confederation to defeat Denmark. The forces were Prussia, which had been governed and strongly promoted by Bismarck, and Austria, which had been a long time rival of Bismarck’s unification plans, but the German nations prevailed in the end. However, Prussia soon went to war against Austria, defeated it, and Bismarck was able to unify Germany even more, which goes to show that he was a formidable leader. Later, he took advantage of newly constructed railways in Germany to deploy Prussian troops. This, combined with other cunning strategies proved especially effective in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, where Prussian forces had a decisive victory over the French. Throughout his political career, Bismarck implemented a series of cunning economic and domestic policies aimed at benefiting the working class to improve Germany, and his ideas were almost always successful. His new workers policies were among the most advanced and carefully thought out decisions of the time. All of these events help support the notion that Bismarck was an excellent leader, and his political skill was widely recognized throughout Europe.

In the early 60’s of the 19th century Germany was a Confederation of loosely bound principalities. Bismarck, who was a conservative Junker, became the Prussian Prime minister in 1862, and he “pursued an aggressive ruthless policy aimed at [German] unification.” (Dill, 146) One step he made toward unification occurred in 1864 when Prussia allied with Austria against Denmark. They did so because succession of two Duchies, Schelswig and Holstein, was disputed after Fredrick VII’s death in 1863. The conflict resulted in a swift victory for Prussia and Austria, and in Vienna in August 1864 the King of Denmark “had to give up all his rights to the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia.” (Eyck, 93) The two great German states became allies. These events paved the way for unification in Germany because it was Bismarck’s dream to “unite German Austria with the German Empire...” (Hitler, 11) However, tensions between Austria and Prussia soon increased. Austria was disconcerted over the outcome of the conflict against Denmark regarding Bismarck’s post-war policies. Bismarck proposed a “reorganization of the German confederation, including the creation of a national assembly elected by universal male suffrage.” (Newman et al, 297) Despite Austria’s rejection of this he did not waver on his decision, which caused an “unpleasant situation for the Austrian government.” (Eyck 95) This unpleasant situation developed into a much larger problem when Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria thought “war was an inevitable consequence of Bismarck’s proposal.” (Newman et al, 297) Here again do we see an example of Bismarck’s exceptional leadership. The strength of his Prussian military under the command of Helmuth von Moltke combined with Bismarck’s political talent led to the defeat of Austria in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. The outcome of this war had far-reaching consequences that lead to the development of a reformed German confederation and greater Prussian strength in Germany. It became clear that by now Bismarck was “not only fearless but absolutely reckless.” (Eyck, 94) Reckless as he was, he was still quite capable of making sound decisions regarding German unification and interests. The results of the war in Denmark and the Austro-Prussian war are proof of that.

Although Bismarck’s victories over both Denmark and Austria led to German unification to some extent, there was still much more work to be done. One of the hardest tests of his leadership came when Prussia went to war with France. One of the reasons that this war came about was because Prussia’s victory over Austria increased tensions with France and Napoleon III feared that a powerful Germany would change the balance of power in Europe. Bismarck did not go out of his way to avoid war with France. As one source puts it, “the war’s origins were petty, but its consequences were profound.” (Newman et all, 297) The outbreak of war was the result of France’s decision to block the German Prince Leopold from obtaining the Spanish throne when it was offered to him. Upon hearing about this, the German people were infuriated and therefore supportive of military force against France, though this was also due in part from Bismarck’s manipulation of the media which made France look like the aggressors. Upon reading a newspaper altered by Bismarck, King William exclaimed: “This means war!” (Eyck, 173) Political mistakes made by Napoleon at this time “delivered himself into Bismarck’s hands.” (ibid, 172) The Franco-Prussian war was yet another decisive victory for Prussia, with France being defeated in every battle. The most important outcome of the war was the “unification of the German people in a great Reich.” (ibid, 174) The Treaty of Frankfurt imposed harsh terms for the French, who had to “pay 5 billion francs and endure German occupation for the three years it would take to complete payment.” (Newman et al, 174) Clearly Prussian victory over France paved the way for German prosperity at the time. However, Bismarck opposed annexation because he did not want to be France’s permanent enemy. It was shortly after the war that Bismarck acted to secure unification in Germany by providing special concessions to southern German states if they agreed to unification, which was largely successful. One of the ways he accomplished this was by pursuing Friedenspolitik (policy of peace) in order that “the new German state might digest the achievements of the earlier period.” (Dill, 146) Bismarck was able to gain enough support from the German federation of 25 constituent states to form the German Empire, and to add insult to the French defeat, William I was declared the German Emperor at Versailles, Louis XIV’s former palace, on 18th January 1871.

One the German Empire had been established, Bismarck devoted nearly all of his political cunning and leadership abilities towards improving the Empire both economically and socially. He was widely concerned with improving the German economy, and with the “general spirit of material progress and expansion, which Bismarck seemed to symbolize at the time.” (Dill, 148) One of the ways he fostered German economic development was by aiding faltering industries by limiting free trade and “asked for an increase in indirect taxation by the introduction of a protectionist tariff.” (Eyck, 253) This caused problems with the National Liberals who supported free trade, but “the protective tariff legislation of 1879… reduced the flow of foreign goods into German markets.” (Dill, 160) His opposition was strong but “it is true that in almost every major issue he managed to get what he wanted.” (ibid 155) And while it is true that not all of his undertakings were stellar (i.e. the Kulturkampf), it is quite clear that “Germany was transformed economically… she evolved an imposing economic system.” (ibid, 160) This evolution is due in part to Bismarck’s strategic economic policies. But Bismarck was not only concerned with the economic well-being of German industry, for he also cared for the workers. In 1881 he “introduced his new program of social legislation, perhaps the most constructive of his whole career.” (ibid, 164) This legislation “emphasized the right and duty of the state to protect the workers.” (ibid, 164) Here we have the beginnings of modern workers benefits, because they had not existed before Bismarck. Therefore, Bismarck’s unwavering determination to improve German economic and social conditions was successful because of his ability to get what he wanted because he was a respected political leader.

Bismarck was considered medieval in his undertakings. Perhaps this was because he was rooted in iron logic, and refused to back down on his ideas since “the results of his actions are more far reaching than those of any other statesman of his time.” (Eyck, ix) He succeeded in almost every confrontation, whether on the battlefield or in the Reichstag. Jules Favre, a respected French statesman, referred to him as “a statesman who surpasses everything he can imagine.” (ibid, ix) He has had numerous historical books recount his legacy, and while not everything he dealt with resulted in universal acceptance, there is no doubt that “he had intellectual ascendancy over all the politicians of his time, and his superiority was acknowledged not only by his own people, but by foreign statesmen all over Europe.” (ibid, ix) To have such qualities is impossible without powerful leadership skills. Therefore, Bismarck’s leadership skills were highly regarded, making him one of the most prominent individuals in German history.



Reference List

Dill Jr., Marhsall. (1961). Germany: A Modern History. Ann Arbor, Univ. of Michigan Press.

Eyck, Erich. (1964). Bismarck and the German Empire. Norton Library, Norton & Company.

Hitler, Adolf. (1939). Mein Kampf. Hurst & Blackett Ltd.

Newman, Garfield (et al). (2002). Legacy: The West and the World. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.


Bismarck notes 2


German unification
Defeat of Denmark and Austria
  • Germany consisted of a multitude of principalities loosely bound together as members of the German Confederation 
  • He used diplomacy and the Prussian military to achieve unification 
  • Excluded Austria from unified Germany – wanted to make Prussia the most powerful and dominant component of the nation 
  • Faced diplomatic crisis when Fredrick VII of Denmark died in 1863 – Succession of Schleswig (Christian IX) and Holstein (Augustenburg) was disputed – Prussian public favored Augustenburg 
  • Bismarck favored Christian IX under London Protocol, but denounced his decision to annex the duchy of Schleswig to Denmark property. 
  • Issued ultimatum for Christian to return Schleswig to former status – Denmark refused so Austria and Prussia invaded – Second war of Schleswig – Denmark was forced to cede both duchies 
  • Prussia received Schleswig, Austria received Holstein 
  • 1866 – Austria reneged on prior agreement by demanding Diet to determine Schleswig-Holstein issue – Bismarck used this as excuse to fight Austria – Austrians had violated the Convention of Gastein. 
  • Start of the Austro-Prussian War 
  • Albrecht von Roon – Prussian army leader, also Helmuth von Moltke the Elder – Prussia fought battles it was able to win. 
  • Bismarck made secret alliance with Italy – desired Austrian-controlled Venetia – Italy’s entrance into the war forced Austrians to divide their forces 
  • Prussia quickly defeated Austria and its allies, much to the surprise of Europe 
  • Crushing victory at the Battle of Sadowa – Peace of Prague in 1866 dissolved German Confederation – Prussia annexed many cities 
  • Austria promised not to interfere with German affairs. 
  • Prussia and several North German states joined North German Confederation in 1867 – King Wilhelm I was President 
  • Bismarck was Chancellor 
  • Lead to “The Misery of Austria” – Austria served as a mere vassal to the superior Germany 
  • Military success brought Bismarck tremendous political support in Prussia 
  • Liberals suffered major defeat in 1866 – new conservative House on much better terms with Bismarck


The Reptiles Slush Fund


After 1866 war Bismarck annexed Kingdom of Hanover – King George V allowed to keep 50% of the crown assets – rest gone to state assets and national treasury

Bismarck accused George of organizing a plot against state – sequestered his share (16 million thalers) in 1868

Bismarck used this money to set up secret slush fund used to bribe journalists and discredit his political enemies – used some funds to support King Ludwig II of Bavaria for making William I German Emperor

Also funds used to place informers in household of Crown Prince Fredrick and Victoria – bogus stories by Bismarck planted in newspapers accused royal couple of acting as British agents by revealing state secrets to British government

They planned to reform the fatal flaws in the executive branch that Bismarck would create for himself

The office of Chancellor responsible to the Kaiser would be replaced with British-style cabinet – ministers responsible to Reichstag Government policy would be based on the consensus of the cabinet

Bismarck planned to use future Kaiser William II as a weapon against his parents in order to retain his own power

He would drill William on his prerogatives and would teach him to be insubordinate to his parents

William II developed a dysfunctional relationship with parents


Establishment of the German Empire


Prussian victory over Austria increased tensions with France

Napoleon III feared that a powerful Germany would change balance of power in Europe

Bismarck did not avoid war with France – believed that German states perceived France as the aggressor – unite behind the King of Prussia

German prince Leopold offered Spanish throne – France blocked candidacy 

Bismarck provoked France to fight Prussia by publishing Ems Dispatch – conversation between King Wilhelm and French ambassador to Prussia

France declared war July 19th 1870 (Franco-Prussian war in 1870)

This was a great success for Prussia

German army commanded by Helmuth von Moltke the Elder – won victory after victory

French defeated every battle

Bismarck opposed annexation because he did not wish to make permanent enemy of France

Bismarck acted immediately to secure unification of Germany – negotiated with representatives of southern German states – special concessions if they agreed to unification which succeeded

King Wilhelm proclaimed German Emperor 18th January 1871 at Versailles

New German Empire was a federation with 25 constituent states

“Man cannot create the current of events. He can only float with them, and steer”

Chancellor of the German Empire


1871 – Bismarck raised to the rank of Furst (Prince) von Bismarck

Appointed Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire, retained his Prussian offices as well

Bismarck had a large amount of control over domestic and foreign policy

One of his primary concerns was to reduce Catholic church in Germany – may have been due to anti-liberal message of Pope Pius IX

Bismarck feared that the pope would use the definition of the doctrine, Syllabus of Errors (1864) Papal infallibility (1870), as a political weapon for creating instability by driving a wedge between Catholics and Protestants

Attempted, unsuccessfully, to reach an understanding with other European governments – future papal elections would be manipulated

Bismarck believed that Catholics had too much political power – concerned about the emergence of the Catholic Centre Party

Anti-Catholic campaign known as Kulturkampf – Catholic department of Prussian Ministry of Culture was abolished in 1871

Jesuits were expelled from Germany in 1872

Abandoned Kulturkampf in 1878 – it had won Bismarck a new supporter in National Liberal Party – his chief ally in the Reichstag

Long depression in 1873 after Vienna Stock Exchange crash – downturn hit German economy first time since industrial development in early 1850s

He aided faltering industries by abandoning free trade and established protectionist tariffs – alienated National Liberals who supported free trade

Bismarck returned to conservative factions

He became worried about Polish presence – was a threat to German state

He was worried about the growth of the socialist movement – instituted Anti-Socialist Laws in 1878

Tried to reduce to appeal of Socialism to the public – appease the working class

Enacted social reforms considered to be the first European labor laws – Health Insurance Act of 1883 – Accident insurance 1884 – old age pensions and disability in 1889 – other laws restricted employment of women and children

Foreign Policies

Devoted himself to keeping peace in Europe so strength of German Empire would not be threatened

Forced to contend with French revanchism – desire to avenge loss of Franco-Prussian War

Bismarck developed policy of diplomatically isolating France – maintained good relations with other nations in Europe

Kept peace with UK by declining to seek a colonial empire or an expansion of the navy

1872 – offered friendship to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia – joined Wilhelm I in League of the Three Emperors

Bismarck maintained good relations with Italy – partially responsible for Italian Unification

His role in pursuing the 1866 Austro-Prussian War against Austria allowed Italy to truly annex Venetia – had been an Austrian vassal state since 1815

1870 Franco-Prussian War made Napoleon III remove French troops from Rome and The Papal States

Italian Unification would have been hindered otherwise

Russia’s victory over Ottoman Empire in Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) – Bismarck helped negotiate Congress of Berlin – Treaty of Berlin (1878) revised Treaty of San Stefano – reducing great advantages it gave to Russia in southeastern Europe

Bismarck and other European leaders opposed growth of Russian influence – tried to protect power of Ottoman Empire 

Russo-German relations suffered

He negotiated Dual alliance in 1879 with Austria-Hungary – became Triple Alliance with Italy

Opposed to seeking colonies at first due to the maintenance cost – however they did colonize some places in Africa later

“From its foundation until his dismissal in 1890, the German Empire was dominated by Bismarck.” (Dill 146)

“In the early 60s he pursued an aggressive ruthless policy aimed at unification. After 1871 he pursued a Friedenspolitik (“policy of peace”) in order that the new German state might digest the achievements of the earlier period.”(Dill 146)

“The man who had with calculation risked war now became the man who would do almost anything to avoid war.” (Dill 146)

“He conceived his purpose to be the consolidation of past gains and the maintenance of Germany’s military and economic strength. So massive and awesome was his personality, so obvious his achievement, that the world saw Germany a great monolith of strength and power.” (Dill 146)

“The conservatives had two major interests: Prussia, and their agricultural livelihoods. As far as the first was concerned, they felt that Bismarck had neglected purely Prussian concerns in favor of general German ones; they viewed the new empire with a good deal of mistrust.” (Dill 147)

“It was not until Bismarck’s watershed year of 1879 (when the question of the protective tariff, so dear to the agrarians, arose) that the Conservatives shifted from opposition to support of the government.” (Dill 147)

“…for the chancellor felt that a republic was a weaker form of government than a monarchy, and above all, he wanted a weak France.” (Dill 147)

“During the decade of the seventies Bismarck looked for his principal support to the National Liberal party which at the time was the largest single party in the Reichstag. It was mainly the party of big business and industrial interests, which were rapidly becoming so very important.” (Dill 147)

“They were also in sympathy with the general spirit of material progress and expansion, which Bismarck seemed to symbolize at the time.” (Dill 148)

“The Kulturekampf, Bismarck’s attack on the Roman Catholic church, is generally regarded as one of his least successful undertakings.” (Dill 151)

“In 1887 the chancellor enjoyed his ultimate triumph and undertook his last shift in party alignment. On this occasion the issue was the so-called Septennate, or bill by which army estimates would be considered by the Reichstag only every seven years.” (Dill 155)

“It is true that in almost every major issue he managed to get what he wanted. However, he left behind him a heritage of discontent and bitterness veiled by his apparent outward success.” (Dill 155)

“The great single fact about Germany in the period under consideration is her phenomenal economic development. This and its implications, both social and political, dwarf the other aspects of German life.” (Dill 156)

“By the turn of the twentieth century Germany was transformed economically. Not only has she evolved an imposing economic system, but this system was largely in the hands of a relatively small number of extremely influential men.” (Dill 160)

“In 1881 Bismarck introduced his new program of social legislation, perhaps the most constructive series of acts of his whole career. Both in addresses of his own and in the speech from the throne, he emphasized the right and the duty of the state to protect the welfare of the workers. He introduced a bill calling for a system of health insurance providing for both medical attention and half pay in case of illness. Insurance funds were provided, to be paid for by employer, employee, and the state.” (Dill 165)

“Finally in 1889 an even more grandiose project was passed, namely an old age and invalidity pension act. In this act the state did contribute one-third of the fund.” (Dill 164)


“Bismarck had on the whole preserved friendly relations with the Italians. He had helped them to acquire Venetia in 1866.” (Dill 183)


“…the result was the formation by Germany, Austria, and Italy of the Triple Alliance, which remained in force until Italy denounced it in 1915.” (Dill 183)


“It looked by then as if Bismarck had pretty completely achieved his aim of security. Germany was closely allied to Austria-Hungary and Italy; she maintained some control over Russia in the League of the Three Emperors; she had a line to Great Britain through the latter’s friendship with Austria and Italy; she had even brought Romania into her orbit by acceding in 1883 to a defensive alliance between Austria and Romania, which was transparently aimed at Russia.” (Dill 183)


“Morally speaking, it seems clear that the Reinsurance Treaty was far from the spirit of the arrangement arrived at with Austria. Critics of Bismarck see in this treaty a prime example of his cynicism and unscrupulousness; his admirers see in it an extraordinarily astute technique for preserving peace n any contingency.” (Dill 185)
         
“The full complexity of Bismarck’s system appears at its height in a series of agreements collectively known as the First Mediterranean Agreement and signed in the early months of 1887.” (Dill 185)


“The panorama of Bismarck’s diplomatic achievement is an impressive one. He succeeded in preserving peace; he made himself and Berlin pretty much the pivots of European international politics during the seventies and eighties. He has been lauded on all sides for his diplomatic shrewdness. One authority likes to describe him as the successful states-man of “limited nobility,” as opposed to William II and Hitler whom he characterizes as the unsuccessful statesmen of “unlimited liability.” It would be foolish to underestimate Bismarck’s diplomatic astuteness or the massive sum of his achievement. Yet even in the field of international affairs his heritage was not without disadvantage. The tying of the destinies of Germany to those of Austria-Hungary was to prove a drag and eventually to be the direct means of leading the empire to its doom. The establishment of far-flung colonies in time called for the creation of a strong navy and Germany’s consequent immersion into Weltpolitik (“world politics”), which was to be so dangerously tempting to Emperor William II. Even in his own chosen field of diplomacy Bismarck’s achievement, though very considerable, is not to be admired without reservation.” (Dill 187)

“In the earlier years Bismarck traced a course which was often diplomatically aggressive and several times risked the possibility of war.” (Dill 178)

“Though the complexities of the elaborate alliance system which Bismarck constructed to keep the peace are very great, the principals underlying his moves are not difficult to discern and are logical. Since peace was the overriding consideration, it was essential to prevent any alliance of powers even potentially unfriendly to Germany. His particular horror was that an alliance might develop between France and Russia, with the result that Germany might be forced to fight a war on two fronts simultaneously. The logical consequence of this fear was the Germany had to be closely aligned with either France or Russia.” (Dill 178)

“It was Bismarck’s dream to unite German Austria with the German Empire…” (Hitler 11)

“It must be remembered in this connection that conditions in Austria were quite different from those which characterized the German State as founded by Bismarck. Germany was faced with only one difficulty, which was that of transforming the purely political traditions, because throughout the whole of Bismarck’s Germany there was a common cultural basis. The German Empire contained only members of one and the same racial or national stock, with the exception of a few minor foreign fragments.” (Hitler 66)

“Once we understand the part played by that absurd notion of conquering the world by peaceful commercial means we can clearly understand how that other absurdity, the Triple Alliance, came to exist. With what State then could an alliance have been made? In alliance with Austria we could not acquire new territory by military means, even in Europe. And this very fact was the real reason for the inner weakness of the Triple Alliance. A Bismarck could permit himself such a makeshift for the necessities of the moment, but certainly not any of his bungling successors, and least of all when the foundations no longer existed on which Bismarck had formed the Triple Alliance. In Bismarck’s time Austria could still be looked upon as a German State; but the gradual introduction of universal suffrage turned the country into a parliamentary Babel, in which the German voice was scarcely audible.” (Hitler 123)


“The work of Bismarck must now be carried on.” (Hitler 135)

“It was because there were no adequate spiritual motives back of this offensive that Bismarck was compelled to hand over the administration of his socialist legislative measures to the judgment and approval of those circles which were themselves the product of the Marxist teaching. Thus a very ludicrous state of affairs prevailed when the Iron Chancellor surrendered the fate of his struggle against Marxism to the goodwill of the bourgeois democracy. He left the goat to take care of the garden. But this was only the necessary result of the failure to find a fundamentally new Weltanschhauung which would attract devoted champions to its cause and could be established on the ground from which Marxism had been driven out. And thus the result of the Bismarckian campaign was deplorable.” (Hitler 143)





“This very wide difference between the functions of a political philosopher and a practical political leader is the reason why the qualifications necessary for both functions are scarcely ever found associated in the same person. This applies especially to the so-called successful politician of the smaller kind, whose activity is indeed hardly more than practicing the art of doing the possible, as Bismarck modestly defined the art of politics in general.” (Hitler 170)





“It was thus that an act of statesmanship was accomplished whereby the Germans, princes as well as people, established the future Reich and restored the symbol of the Imperial Crown. Bismarck’s State was not founded on treason and assassination by deserters and shirkers but by the regiments that had fought at the front. This unique birth and baptism of fire sufficed of them to surround the Second Empire with an aureole of historical splendour such as few of the older States could lay claim to.” (Hitler 180)





The lack of orientation in German policy, both domestic and foreign, was obvious to everyone who was not purposely blind. The best thing that could be said about the practice of making compromises is that it seemed outwardly to be in harmony with Bismarck’s axiom that ‘politics is the art of the possible’. But Bismarck was a slightly different man from the Chancellors who followed him. This difference allowed the former to apply that formula to the very essence of his policy, while in the mouths of the others it took on an utterly different significance. When he uttered that phrase Bismarck meant to say that in order to attain a definite political end all possible means should be employed or at least that all possibilities should be tried. But his successors see in that phrase only a solemn declaration that one is not necessarily bound to have political principles or any definite political aims at all. And the political leaders of the Reich at that time had no far-seeing policy. Here, again, the necessary foundation was lacking, namely, a definite Weltanschauung, and these leaders also lacked that clear insight into the laws of political evolution which is a necessary quality in political leadership.” (Hitler 211)

“Even though the narrow-minded German bourgeoisie should keep up a passive resistance when the hour of deliverance is at hand, as they did in Bismarck’s time, we shall never have to fear any active resistance on their part, because of their recognized proverbial cowardice.” (261)

“Surely ‘Federal Activities’ is not the phrase with which to describe an effort to dissolve and dismember another federal state. For an honest federalist, for whom the formula used by Bismarck to define his idea of the Reich is not a counterfeit phrase, could not in the same breath express the desire to cut off portions of the Prussian State, which was created or at least completed by Bismarck. Nor could he publicly support such a separatist attempt.” (Hitler 427)

“The sovereign rights which the individual states renounced in order to form the Reich were voluntarily ceded only to a very small degree. For the most part they had no practical existence or they were simply taken by Prussia under the pressure of her preponderant power. The principle followed by Bismarck was not to give the Reich what he could take from the individual states but to demand from the individual states only what was absolutely necessary for the Reich. A moderate and wise policy. On the one side Bismarck showed the greatest regard for customs and traditions; on the other side his policy secured for the new Reich from its foundation onwards a great measure of love and willing co-operation. But it would be a fundamental error to attribute Bismarck’s decision to any conviction on his part that the Reich was thus acquiring all the rights of sovereignty which would suffice for all time. That was far from Bismarck’s idea. On the contrary, he wished to leave over for the future what it would be difficult to carry through at the moment and might not have been readily agreed to by the individual states. He trusted to the leveling effect of time and to the pressure exercised by the process of evolution, the steady action of which appeared more effective than an attempt to break the resistance which the individual states offered at the moment. By this policy he showed his great ability in the art of statesmanship. And, as a matter of fact, the sovereignty of the Reich has continually increased at the cost of the sovereignty of the individual states. The passing of time has achieved what Bismarck hoped it would.” (Hitler 433)

“Bismarck’s Reich was free and unhampered by any obligations towards the outside world. Bismarck’s Reich never had to shoulder such heavy and entirely unproductive obligations as those to which Germany was subjected under the Dawes Plan. Also in domestic affairs Bismarck’s Reich was able to limit its powers to a few matters that were absolutely necessary for its existence. Therefore it could dispense with the necessity of a financial control over these states and could live from their contributions.” (Hitler 434)

“They say that Bismarck laid great importance on the value of good relations with Russia. To a certain extent, that is true. But they quite forget to add that he laid equal stress on the importance of good relations with Italy, for example. Indeed, the same Herr von Bismarck once concluded an alliance with Italy so that he might more easily settle accounts with Austria.” (Hitler 501)


“Moreover, Bismarck looked upon the colonial and trade policy of his time with mixed feelings, because what he most desired was to assure the best possibilities of consolidating and internally strengthening the state system which he himself had created. That was the sole ground on which he then welcomed the Russian defense in his rear, so as to give him a free hand for his activities in the West.” (Hitler 501)

Playing with garbage.

1998, Campbell River Trailer Pack

Ryan Dewing, a south African with a big burn scar on his left arm. His mom supposedly bumped into him and spilled boiling water all over the kid, and now there were burn scars up and down his arm and chest. He was a funny looking kid. I think his mother was a gypsy. Jeff Swim dated her briefly. Sharn Dewing was her name. Her room was an eclectic mix of south African art, paintings, little knick nacks and details from different cultures. She also had a daughter, Raquel, a young blonde girl who avoided us most of the time. She used to fight a lot with her brother. He was often mean to her, and would hit her to the point of making her cry. I used to hang out at Ryan's trailer. We played sega games on his old tube tv. It had been heavily magnetized to where the picture was all funky shades of purple and green. I remember playing some basketball game, Rambo, and others. He also had a model train set, complete with Styrofoam terrain. That was the first thing I noticed when we met. It seemed so out of place. We worked on it for hours. One night, Ryan got all weird, started talking about god and god's love, Jesus, etc. Bible stories. That's when he really started to weird me out. I kept my distance.
One random night, his mother, who often biked in the forest, came home from freezing weather conditions. She put her feet in plastic bags to... prevent hypothermia?
One time, Ryan and I began delivering small trial bottles of Sunny D to the other trailers in the neighborhood. I think at one point we ended up drinking more than we delivered.

Fast forward to 2007. I'm working at the Vancouver Sandman hotel on Davie street. I'd moved there over the summer after refusing to continue working at Staples Soul sucking death job. I spent a few weeks after leaving the job just sleeping all day, eating, and playing WoW, trying to avoid the world as much as possible. This went on till I couldn't pay my rent anymore, and Char Aimers decided it was time for me to move to Vancouver with my sister. Immediately I got in with my sister Emery's work crowd. A shady bunch of white people and urban gays. One of the gays followed me to the cybercafe and began playing WoW near me. Creeped me out. My sister would invite them over for Coronas and we'd go out places, even on New Years and on some boat together to get hammered. I remember puking off the side of the boat and passing out for the night. Had to work the next day. Who were these people? It always sat uneasily with me that it seemed so difficult to get a bead on who these people were. Out came the mask again. Was it my way of replying to their fake acting? On at least 3 occasions random dudes came up to me on the streets after i'd smoked weed in public. One of them said I looked like elvis. Another sat with me on the bench and we talked about halo before I got weirded out and walked away. Yet another came up to me on Canada day and started talking about people, the government, and all these other things. Something about these people just didn't add up. For the most part, i'd pick up a few key words or expressions from these folks, and determined that it was time for me to leave.

I remember walking to work at 6 am, locking the door behind me, and seeing Vancouver as it woke up. The old school building where I took night classes in creative writing, smoking joints on benches under old trees and near the beach after work at sunset. Passing the Hypatia sex shop on the way to work, wondering about all the sex toys. I read about Hypatia and often thought of her when I passed the shop in the morning. To me her name felt a lot like saying Labia. There was another sex shop right beside work, filled with bondage equipment showing right out the front window. It was an interesting contrast to be right beside a hotel. One of my favourite things to do was sweep the front entrance outside in the morning chill, right around sunrise. Often in the morning, I'd see a giant walrus of a man, homeless, wondering around outside Mac's convenience store carrying a stained white blanket. He'd usually be hollering about something, waiting for free leftovers from the store. Sometimes he was just staring blankly into space. He semi-reminded me of the alcoholic englishman who often peeked out of his apartment room window in a back alley behind my work. He had a thick accent and would go on and on about different things, sometimes talking to nobody at all. One day, in the poring rain, a suspicious vehicle came up to the window and exchanged a large package with the man. The package looked like a loaf of bread, but it might as well have been a brick of hash. Strange people would show up in the alley looking for redeemable recyclables. Scott Johnson, the dangerously fat hotel manager, often stood in the back parking lot smoking cigarettes with the Iranian maintenance man whose name I can't recall.

How had I even been hired at that job? Sloba Milosovich.... she hired me one random October day after i'd already been interviewed at a downtown Chapters. And then I'd already been hired at another hotel as a maintenance man. I only showed up for one shift before being hired on at the Sandman. It was a thoughtless job. Eventually a gay hotel serviceman took Slobas spot, and I now started reporting to him. Can't remember his name. I came to work stoned driving shampoo machines up and down the hallway for hours, then cleaning the pool, and pouring Eucalyptus shampoo on the walls in the spa room. One time I found suspiciously placed porn magazines on top of a vending machine. Even though the porn was filled with naked girls, I felt certain the gay guy had planted them there. I took the porn home and put it in the same drawer I kept all my weed materials.


Every morning I brought apples to the front desk in a glass bowl, making sure to clean them and shine them before hand. Got a lot of calls to unplug clogged, shitty toilets. On more than one occasion, some Brazilian kids clogged up the sink with weed resin from their bong. I plunged and it all belched out like black tar and the sink spilled over. They left joints all over the place. Sometimes i'd find unsmoked joints that had fell from the balcony. Rustom, the old east Indian who worked the houseman job before I'd been hired, joked that I spent all day playing with garbage.

I went on a date once with my redheaded coworker named Ashley. She told me about her gay dad. We talked about Star Trek voyager and took shots in some small mexican food place. Something was off about her. She kept wanting to take me home, but it didn't feel right. Soon after, I pretended to want to join up with the Navy to get back to Ottawa, but really I went to play computer games and redo a semester in grade 12. I ended up graduating with awards and went to an extremely awkward prom wearing a hot polyester suit from Moores. We had a great time. I'll never forget Mr Sinha's english class or Ms Bryans history class. I wrote good essays for her high on adderall. She docked marks once for using Mein Kampf as a source.