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Book review of The Men Who Stare At Goats
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Courtesy Wikimedia
This book isn't funny.
Mind you, Ronson knows exactly what he's doing by presenting the book as "hilarious" – it starts out completely absurd, with the high-minded hippy ideals of a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran presented to a beleaguered military under siege. Jim Channon, seeking solace in the emerging human potential movement in California, struck a chord with the top brass, and the repercussions are still felt today.
But instead of being used as a positive force for peace, the military twisted it into a force of evil. Ronson ties it all together: September 11, Heaven's Gate, sticky foam, Abu-Ghraib, Waco, Art Bell, Projects STARGATE, MKULTRA, and ARTICHOKE, and yes, Barney. Goat-staring is the least of our worries.
The thread running throughout all these seemingly disconnected blips in history is that they are a new form of psychological warfare that is innocuous, ruthless, and entirely effective. The Men Who Stare at Goats would be just another conspiracy-laden anti-government diatribe if it wasn't for the fact that Ronson always takes the next step as an investigative reporter. He finds people to back up the wild claims, interviews them, and often challenges their wild theories.
The sad thing is, very few of these shadowy contacts hide their past. Almost unilaterally, Ronson calls them all out by name and they step forward, sharing a story that sheds a disconcerting light on America's human rights record. Where is the vigorous conversation, the protests, the discord over these revelations? The facts are right here before us – even photographic evidence -- but we laugh about Barney being used to torture prisoners and we shake our heads at the poor, misguided psychics. But outrage? There's no outrage. We save our vitriol for partisan debates in our own government.
Eric Olson, son of Frank Olson, a military scientist who died under mysterious circumstances while working on MKULTRA, sums it up best:
"The old story is so much fun, why would anyone want to replace it with a story that's not fun. You see…this is no longer a happy, feel-good story…People have been brainwashed by fiction…so brainwashed by the Tom Clancy thing, they think, 'We know this stuff. We know the CIA does this.' Actually, we know nothing of this. There's no case of this, and all this fictional stuff is like an immunization against reality. It makes people think they know things that they don't know and it enables them to have a kind of superficial quasi-sophistication and cynicism which is just a thin layer beyond which they're not cynical at all."
Have you heard? There's a movie based on this book coming out starring George Clooney.
It's a comedy.
First Earth SoldierThe First Earth Soldier is a warrior monk, through an ascetic existence, has a myriad of powers at his disposal to defeat the enemy, if not convert him. First Earth Soldiers can make someone fall in love with him, sense auras, pass through solid objects, bend metal through thought alone, see into the future, see in the darkest night, and hear and see other people's thoughts. RequirementsTo qualify to become a First Earth Soldier, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
The following information pertains to the First Earth Soldier advanced class. Hit DieThe First Earth Soldier gains 1d8 hit points per level. The character’s Constitution modifier applies. Action PointsThe First Earth Soldier gains a number of action points equal to 6 plus one-half her character level, rounded down, every time she advances a level in this class. Class SkillsThe First Earth Soldier's class skills are as follows: Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Drive (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (current events, streetwise) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Read/Write Language (none), Search (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (none), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex). Skill Points at Each Level: 3 + Intelligence modifier.
Class FeaturesThe following features pertain to the First Earth Soldier advanced class. Psionic SkillsAt 1st level, the First Earth Soldier gains access to the Autohypnosis and Concentration skills. Psionic PowersThe First Earth Soldier's key talent is the ability to manifest psionics powers related to movement and detection. A psionic power is a one-time psionic effect. Psionic powers require power points to use. Unlike arcane spellcasters, First Earth Soldiers don’t have spellbooks and they don’t prepare powers ahead of time. A First Earth Soldier's level limits the number of power points available for manifesting powers. In addition, a First Earth Soldier must have a key ability score equal to at least 10 + the power’s level to manifest a particular power. The First Earth Soldier's selection of psionic powers is extremely limited and tied both to detection and avoiding being detected. The First Earth Soldier knows two 0-level powers (called talents) of your choice. At each level, the First Earth Soldier discovers one or more previously latent powers, as indicated on the table below. The DC for saving throws to resist a psionic power is 10 + the power’s level + the First Earth Soldier's key ability modifier.
A First Earth Soldier can manifest a certain number of powers per day based on her available power points. (0-level powers have a special cost.) She just pays the power point cost of a power to manifest it, no preparation necessary. The base number of power points available per day is shown above. Psionic FocusAt 2nd level, a First Earth Soldier chooses two powers that share the same primary ability score, and adds +2 to the DC for all saving throws against those powers. Bonus FeatsAt 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the First Earth Soldier gets a bonus feat. The bonus feat must be selected from the following list, and the First Earth Soldier must meet all of the prerequisites for the feat to select it. Acrobatic, Advanced Combat Martial Arts, Combat Reflexes, Combat Throw, Elusive Target, Improved Combat Throw, Improved Combat Martial Arts, Unbalance Opponent, as well as any metapsionic feats. Draw PowerAt 4th level, a First Earth Soldier can spend an action point to regain a number of power points equal to her levels in this class. This is an attack action. Charged ShotAt 5th level, a First Earth Soldier may do additional damage with a ranged attack. Before making any single ranged attack, the First Earth Soldier , as a free action, spends a power point to “charge” a weapon. The next attack deals an extra 1d4 points of damage if it hits (if it misses, it deals no damage, and the power point is still spent). The First Earth Soldier may spend multiple free actions and power points in a single round if she has multiple attacks, but may only “charge” each attack once. A shot remains “charged” for a number of rounds equal to her levels in this class. Combat ManifestationAt 7th level, a First Earth Soldier becomes adept at manifesting psionic powers in combat. She gets a +4 bonus on Concentration checks to manifest a power while on the defensive. Power PenetrationAt 8th level, the First Earth Soldier's powers are more potent at breaking through power resistance (and spell resistance) of opponents. The First Earth Soldier gains a +2 on manifester level checks to beat a creature’s power resistance. For those campaigns where spell resistance and power resistance are equal, it applies to spell resistance as well. Deadly AimAt 10th level, the First Earth Soldier is capable of using her abilities to strike at the chinks in the defense of opponent with a ranged weapon. At 10th level, the First Earth Soldier may pay 5 power points to turn a ranged attack into a ranged touch attack. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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