Green Nuns of the Revolution

I don't care too much for Gaddafi or the situation in Libya... but when he claims that this current movement is being undertaken by kids on hallucinogenic drugs as if it's a bad thing, he's crossed a line! Firstly can I say that, if this is true, good on you, Libya! Keep at it and don't be dissuaded by the ranting of a lunatic...

But wait a moment! Haven't we heard this "crazy youth on drugs" line before? We have to take pause, here, and remember that not so long ago (if it has truly stopped) many politicians in the West were condemning various popular movements on the basis of their, alleged or real, involvement with drugs and especially hallucinogens. This is a tried and true tactic of inducing mass hysteria in the general population (though I doubt it will really work in Libya). Many social movements, both "active" and "passive" (that is to say, with street demonstrations and protests and without) in the "West" have been fuelled, at least in part, by chemical mind expansion – I’m thinking here particularly of the 60's alternative politics/lifestyle movements and also the 80's computer revolution and Silicon Valley – so this means that many if not most calls for change can be undermined in this fashion.

Besides, to return to Gaddafi, isn't his claim of psychedelic revolution a bit of a case of the pot calling the kettle black? I mean, just look at this guy's wardrobe!

Two of my favourites are:

 and

The second one is especially good. The colour and patterns of the robe scream sliced San Pedro cactus. And what's the deal with those shades? Who's he pretending to be? Lady Gaga? 

Speaking of mind-controlled babes, check out the chicks in the background. They are, in fact, members of Gaddafi's "Amazonian guard", an elite female fighting unit called the Green Nuns of the Revolution (What's black and white and green all over? A Green Nun of the Revolution...) This is most hilarious because an outstanding psytrance outfit from the 90's (though they still play live shows these days) called itself the Green Nuns of the Revolution. This group (and, more-so, this style of music) is another of the great many benefits of psychedelics (if you need convincing see this clip of theirs. An incomplete but better quality one is here). Maybe they had an inkling that hallucinogens were gonna be on Libya's agenda soon enough...

Beyond all the jokes, it should be noted that Libya's is just the most recent of a great many revolutionary spouts in the region (Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, etc., in case you've been living in a cave). It used to take a year or a few months at least to cause great social change in a country, now it happens in a matter of days. Even more starkly, it used to take many decades and many conflicts to have relative regional cohesion of political system/outlook and today it takes much less than that again. As we approach the eschaton at 2012, events will continue to occur with greater and greater rapidity... Be prepared!