The Hong Kong Canal thru the heart of Nicaragua

THE HONG KONG CANAL

THRU THE HEART OF NICARAGUA :

A TREATISE ON THE MOST LETHAL CENTRAL AMERICAN

ENVIRONMENTAL PLAGUE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

PROLOGUE

IN FIVE DAYS, ON DECEMBER 22, 2014, OFFICIAL CONSTRUCTION WILL COMMENCE

ON A 278 KILOMETER ( 173 MILE ) " GRAND CANAL " FROM PUNTA GORDA ON THE CARIBBEAN SEA

TO THE MOUTH OF THE BRITO RIVER ON NICARAGUA'S PACIFIC SHORES. THIS ENORMOUS

PLUNDERTAKING, BILLED BY ITS CHIEF PROMOTER, WANG JING, AS " THE BIGGEST [ PROJECT ] IN

THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY ", ALSO PROMISES TO BE THE LARGEST MAN - MADE ENVIRONMENTAL

BLUNDER OF THE 21ST CENTURY, AS WELL AS THE MOST RUINOUS TO NOT JUST THE PRECIOUS

NATURAL RESOURCES AND JUNGLES OF NICARAGUA, BUT TO THE ENTIRETY OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH

AMERICA. THIS TREATISE, ORGANIZED INTO FIVE ACTES, OUTLINES THE SCOPE OF THIS PROPOSED

CANAL AND THE REPERCUSSIONS WHICH WILL REVERBERATE THRU FUTURE CENTURIES DUE TO THE

SHORTSIGHTEDNESS AND GREED OF TWO PARTIES : THE PUPPET CONQUISTADOR WANG JING WITH

THE UNSEEN HANDS OF CHINA, AND ONE OF CENTRAL AMERICA 'S MOST RUTHLESS AND STALINESQUE

DICTATORS OF THE LAST TWO HUNDRED YEARS, JOSE DANIEL ORTEGA SAAVEDRA.

ACTE I - THE GREAT WALL ( CANAL ) OF CHINA

THE CHINESE HAVE HAD A LONG HISTORY OF BUILDING THINGS. FAR BEFORE THE

UBIQUITOUS CONSUMER PRODUCTS FROM NEARLY EVERY CONCEIVABLE CATEGORY OF CAPITALISTIC

CONSUMERISM WHICH THEY FURNISH, THE CHINESE HAD BUILT AN IMPRESSIVE SERIES OF WALLS,

KNOWN AS THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, TO SERVE AS A MILITARY DEFENSIVE STRUCTURE AS WELL

AS A CHECKPOINT FOR RAW RESOURCES AND TRADED GOODS WHICH PASSED THRU ITS BORDERS.

THIS MONUMENTAL CONSTRUCTION, ON PAR WITH THE EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS PERHAPS IN TERMS OF

SHEER HUMAN POWER REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ALL PHASES OF ITS CREATION, CAME AT A HEAVY

HUMAN COST : IT IS ESTIMATED THAT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, PERHAPS ONE MILLION, LIVES

WERE LOST DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THE QING ERA WALL ALONE. THE TRUE EXTENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THE RAMMED EARTH AND STONE / BRICK FORTRESS,

SPANNING AN ESTIMATED 8,852 KILOMETERS ( 5,500 MILES ), IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN ; VIEWED

FROM AN ASTRONAUT'S TELESCOPE, THIS SINUOUS EARTHWORKS APPEARS AS A SCAR UPON THE

SURFACE OF THE EARTH, A SCAR SINCE HEALED. WHILST A BEAUTIFUL SERIES OF STRUCTURE &

AN ENDURING TESTAMENT TO THE ARTISTIC SENSIBILITIES OF CHINA [ BEGINNING WITH THE FIRST

EMPEROR ( 220 - 206 B.C. ) THRU THE MING DYNASTY ( 1368 - 1644 ) ], ITS PARALLEL USAGE AS

A CONTROL CHECKPOINT AND REGULATING SIEVE FOR TRADE AND COMMODITIES IS UNDISPUTED.

THE EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE BEIJING - HANGZHOU GRAND CANAL, WITH A TOTAL LENGTH OF

1,776 KILOMETERS ( 1,104 MILES ), IS THE LONGEST CANAL OR ARTIFICIAL RIVER IN THE WORLD,

HAVING LIKEWISE BEEN CONSTRUCTED TO FACILITATE AND CONTROL THE TRANSPORT OF RAW

GOODS. THIS WATERWAY, BEGINNING WITH THE HONG & HAN GOU SECTIONS OF 483 B.C. AND

EARLIER, WAS LARGELY COMPLETED DURING THE SUI DYNASTY ( 581 - 618 A.D. ), LINKING CHINA'S

RIVER SYSTEMS ( QIANTANG, YANGTZE, HUAI, WEI, HAI, AND YELLOW RIVERS ) AND REDUCING THE

SHIPPING COSTS ON COMMODITIES BOUND FOR THE CAPITAL CITY AND ITS NORTHERN ARMIES.

THE TRUE PRICE OF THIS GREAT CANAL OF CHINA CAME HOWEVER AFTER ITS CONSTRUCTION : IN

858 A.D., A LARGE SCALE FLOOD ALONG THE GRAND CANAL INUNDATED FARMLANDS ALONG ITS

COURSE, LEADING TO THE DEATHS OF TENS OF THOUSANDS IN THE NORTH CHINA PLAIN. IN 1128

A.D., THE GRAND CANAL WAS USED AS A WEAPON OF WAR TO DECIMATE THE JURCHEN DURING

THE JIN - SONG WARS THRU THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DAMS HOLDING THE YELLOW RIVER. THE

REIGN OF THE YONGLE EMPEROR ( 1402 - 1424 A.D. ) SAW LARGE SCALE ALTERATIONS TO THIS

CANAL SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE DIVERTING OF 60 % OF THE WEN RIVER'S FLOW ( THRU DAMS )

TO FEED THIS ECONOMIC ARTERY. THE BENDING OF NATURE'S RIVERS TO SERVE THIS HUMAN

PRODUCED WATERWORKS CONTINUES THRU TO THE PRESENT, WITH PLANNED UPGRADES INCLUDING

ADDITIONAL DRAINAGE OF THE YANGTZE RIVER ( IN JIANGDU ) AMIDST INCREASING POLLUTION AND

WATER SHORTAGE. THOUSANDS OF RIVERS WITHIN CHINA HAVE DISAPPEARED DURING THE PAST

TWO CENTURIES, AS NEARLY 70 % OF CHINA'S DIMINISHING WATER SUPPLY HAS GONE TOWARDS

AGRICULTURAL USE, WITH ANOTHER 20 % TO FEED THE COAL INDUSTRY. A FOCUS ON THE

ECONOMY OVER THE ENVIRONMENT HAS LED TO OVER 60 % OF CHINA'S GROUNDWATER ( FROM

4,778 MONITORING SITES ACROSS THE NATION ) NOW DEEMED TOO POLLUTED FOR HUMAN

CONSUMPTION AT " POOR " OR " VERY POOR " LEVELS ; OVER HALF OF CHINA'S RIVERS AND LAKES

ARE NOW UNSAFE FOR EVEN HUMAN CONTACT, AS LARGE SCALE INDUSTRIAL DUMPING AND

AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF / WASTE HAS TURNED RIVERS RED AND LAKES INTO NOXIOUS CESSPOOLS.

CHINA'S SOUTH - NORTH WATER DIVERSION PROJECT, IN AN ATTEMPT TO SATIATE THE EVER

INCREASING DEMAND OF A NATION WITH ONE - FIFTH OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION, HAS CREATED

A NEW CANAL FROM THE YANGZI TO BEIJING, STRETCHING OVER 1200 KILOMETERS ( 750 MILES )

AND DISPLACING OVER 300,000 CHINESE TO MAKE ROOM FOR THIS NEW WATERWAY AND ITS

ASSOCIATED RESERVOIR. EVEN DARKER CLOUDS LOOM ON CHINA'S ENVIRONMENTAL HORIZON AS

THEIR POPULATION AND INDUSTRY EXPAND, OUTSTRIPPING THEIR SHRINKING AND INCREASINGLY

CONTAMINATED WATER RESOURCES. AS ONE OVERLOOKS THE WATER HUNGRY GOLF COURSES

WHICH CONTINUE TO EXIST AND ABOUND WITHIN THEIR CAPITAL CITY OF BEIJING, THE QUESTION

ARISES : WILL CANALS REPLACE RIVERS IN CHINA'S AQUEOUS FUTURE, WITH NATURE'S WATERWAYS

AND LAKES TRADED FOR ARTIFICIAL RESERVOIRS AND CONFANGLED CHANNELS ?

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA AND THE BEIJING - HANGZHOU GRAND CANAL ARE TWO

IMPORTANT REFERENCE POINTS AS THE CHINESE PLAN AN UNPRECEDENTED EXPANSION TO THEIR

GRAND CANAL SYSTEM, A CANAL CONTIGUOUS ONLY IN ITS MOTIVES FOR CONSTRUCTION, BEING

A VAST OCEAN APART FROM CHINESE SOIL. BORING A VIRGIN SCAR THRU TWO NATIONAL

RESERVES AND THE LARGEST SOURCE OF FRESHWATER IN CENTRAL AMERICA ( LAKE COCIBOLCA ),

THE HKND GROUP OF HONG KONG WAITS IN THE WINGS, EAGER TO CARVE THIS TUNNEL THRU

PRISTINE NICARAGUAN RAINFOREST THAT WILL ULTIMATELY LOWER SHIPPING COSTS ON THE RAW

MATERIALS FROM ALL OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA WHICH CHINA CONSUMES. BUT JUST

WHO IS THIS HKND GROUP, A PRIVATE HONG KONG BASED COMPANY ESTABLISHED FOR THE SOLE

PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING THIS CANAL, AND ITS CHAIRMAN AND SOLE OWNER, WANG JING ?

ACTE II : EVERYBODY WANG JING TONIGHT

FIRST, A CHINESE TALE ( UN CUENTO CHINO ). IN 2012, PRESIDENT ORTEGA OF

NICARAGUA SENT HIS SON LAUREANO TO CHINA, WHERE HE MET WITH MANY IMPORTANT COMMUNIST

PARTY LUMINARIES, AS WELL AS AN UNKNOWN BUSINESSMAN NAMED WANG JING. INTRODUCING

HIMSELF AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF XINWEI ( A TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY ) WHO WISHED TO

HELP EXPAND THE TELEPHONE NETWORK WITHIN NICARAGUA, MR. JING ALSO ENTRUSTED LAUREANO

WITH A PRIVATE MESSAGE TO DELIVER TO PRESIDENT ORTEGA IN NICARAGUA. WITHIN WEEKS, A

BRANCH OFFICE OF XINWEI WAS ESTABLISHED IN A PINK COLOURED HIGHRISE WITHIN MANAGUA

( NICARAGUA'S CAPITAL ) CALLED THE FREEDOM BUILDING, WITH A LICENSE TO EXPAND THE

TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK OF NICARAGUA. DURING THE SUMMER OF 2012 HOWEVER, THE

FOCUS OF INTEREST CURIOUSLY WENT FROM THE ENTERPRISE OF EXPANDING TELECOMMUNICATIONS

TO CONSTRUCTING AN INTEROCEANIC CANAL STRAIGHT THRU THE HEART OF NICARAGUA ; ON

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012, A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WAS DRAFTED BETWEEN THE NICARAGUAN

GOVERNMENT AND THE NEWLY FORMED HKND GROUP TO DEVELOP AND CONSTRUCT THIS CANAL ( AT

AN ESTIMATED COST OF OVER $50 BILLION ). ON JUNE 10, 2013, THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

OF NICARAGUA'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR OF THE PROJECT, AND ONLY

THREE DAYS LATER, ON JUNE 13, 2013, THE NICARAGUAN LEGISLATURE, LED BY THEIR SANDINISTA

MAJORITY, RATIFIED THIS CONCESSION, WITHOUT CONSULTATION OF ANY NATURE TO THE PEOPLES

OF NICARAGUA AND ITS NATIVE TRIBES, GRANTING THE HKND GROUP FULL RIGHTS TO CONSTRUCT,

OWN, AND OPERATE THIS EXTENSION OF CHINA'S GRAND CANAL SYSTEM INTO NICARAGUA FOR 50

YEARS, WITH AN ADDITIONAL 50 YEAR OPTION IN PLACE ONCE THE CANAL WAS OPERATIONAL. THE

GOVERNMENT OF NICARAGUA IN EXCHANGE WOULD RECLAIM A 1 % STAKE IN THE OWNERSHIP OF

THE CANAL EACH YEAR ; IT WOULD THUS TAKE THE NATION OF NICARAGUA FIFTY YEARS BEFORE

THEY WOULD GAIN CONTROL OF HALF OF THE CANAL SET TO RUN COMPLETELY THRU THEIR LANDS.

THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES, WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN FIFTY YEARS ? THE ANSWER IS, ENOUGH TO

HAVE THE CHINESE DANCING IN THE STREETS ( OR THEIR MONEYED INTERESTS AT LEAST ) TO THE

1986 SINGLE " EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT, EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT ". THE KEY WORD

IN THIS UPBEAT REFRAIN IS TONIGHT, THE PRESENT, THE NOW : THE MOTIVE BEING TO OPEN UP

THE FLOODGATES FOR NATURAL RESOURCES FLOWING FROM THE AMERICAS TO CHINA ( IRON ORE

FROM BRAZIL, THE SOY AND BEEF WHICH FEED ASIA AT THE EXPENSE OF AN AMAZON RAINFOREST,

CRUDE OIL FROM VENEZUELA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO, THE RARE EARTH METALS GOUGED OUT

OF PERU FOR CONVENIENCE DEVICES, THE PRECIOUS AMAZONIAN TIMBERS COVETED BY SOUTHEAST

ASIA AND JAPAN ), AND FOR THIS GRAND CANAL TO ACT AS THE GREAT FACILITATOR IN THIS

RAPING OF NOT ONLY THE AMAZON RAINFOREST BUT THE UNSPOILED JUNGLES OF EASTERN

NICARAGUA AND THE GREAT LAKE COCIBOLCA ( JUST SLIGHTLY SMALLER IN SIZE TO BOLIVIA'S LAKE

TITICACA ). THE PROVERBIAL TUNNEL TO CHINA HAS BEEN DUG, BUT IN REVERSE : IT IS CHINA

OUT OF THE DARKNESS, AND A LONE CHINAMAN EMERGING FROM THIS TUNNEL, WAVING THE

CANAL CONCESSION AS A FLAG. HIS NAME IS WANG JING.

" MY RESUME ? IT IS SIMPLE. BORN IN DECEMBER 1972, IN BEIJING, AND A CHINESE

CITIZEN. " THESE ARE THE WORDS OF WANG JING, WHO PRIOR TO 2010 ( WHEN HE BOUGHT THE

TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY XINWEI ) MIGHT OTHERWISE BE REGARDED AS THE INVISIBLE MAN.

HE STUDIED TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE, BUT REFUSES TO DIVULGE AT WHICH UNIVERSITY.

VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN OF HIS PAST OTHER THAN HIS INVOLVEMENT TO SOME DEGREE IN GOLD

MINING AND THE GEM INDUSTRY IN THAILAND AND CAMBODIA, WHERE IT IS BELIEVED HE MADE HIS

FIRST FORTUNE. THE UNSETTLING SECRECY OF WANG JING'S PAST HAS EXTENDED TO XINWEI AND

THE OTHER COMPANIES HE'S BEEN INVOLVED WITH SINCE 2010, AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE CANAL

PROJECT; TO THIS DAY NO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS ( IN REGARDS TO BOTH THE CANAL'S

CONSTRUCTION AND ITS POTENTIAL EFFECTS UPON LAKE COCIBALCA ) HAVE BEEN RELEASED BY THE

HKND GROUP NOR MR. JING, AND MOST MEDIA ATTEMPTS TO ELICIT MORE SPECIFICS REGARDING

THE CANAL'S CONSTRUCTION AND THE IDENTITY OF ITS INVESTORS HAVE BEEN REPULSED. THE

PROVERBIAL ANCIENT CHINESE SECRET HAS TRANSFORMED INTO A MODERN DAY CHINESE ENIGMA,

BAFFLING EVEN THE SANDINISTA SUPPORTERS OF THE PROPOSED CANAL WITHIN NICARAGUA. AS

BENJAMIN LANZAS, THE HEAD OF THE NICARAGUAN CHAMBER OF CONSTRUCTION, HAS REMARKED,

( IN REGARDS TO THE OBSERVED SECRECY ), " IF SOMETHING'S GOOD, WHY HIDE IT ? "

PRECISEMENT.

PRECISELY BECAUSE, MR. LANZAS, THERE IS NOTHING GOOD OR OF LASTING BENEFIT TO THE

NICARAGUAN PEOPLE, AND PARTICULARLY THE INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS OF NICARAGUA, FROM THE

CONSTRUCTION OF THIS CANAL ; DESPITE AN INITIAL SPIKE IN RESIDUAL JOBS RELATED TO THE

CANAL OVER THE NEXT FIFTEEN YEARS, AND A FURTHER TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT FROM THE INFLUX

OF CHINESE WORKERS AND DOLLARS, THE NET EFFECT WOULD BE AS A SUGAR SPIKE : A SHORT

TERM PSEUDO - PROSPERITY, WITH THE RESULTANT DROP LEVELS LOWER THAN BEFORE, AS THE

NATURAL RESOURCES OF NICARAGUA ( WITHIN ONE OF THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE

AREAS OF CENTRAL AMERICA ) ARE IRREVOCABLY ALTERED, AND THE BLEEDING OF CENTRAL AND

SOUTH AMERICA'S VEINS OPENED UP TO A DEEPER AND MORE DEVASTATING LEVEL OF HEMORRHAGE.

NICARAGUA WOULD BE AS THE THROAT OF AN EVER EXPLODING VOLCANO, VOMITING THE RICHES

AND RESOURCES PASSING THRU ITS LANDS, BEING USED ONLY AS A COLOSSAL COURSEWAY.

PRECISELY BECAUSE, MR. LANZAS, THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WISHES TO HIDE THE FACT THAT

CHINA ITSELF IS BEHIND THE FINANCING OF THIS CANAL. IT IS AS A BRILLIANT CHESS MOVE UPON

THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH : WITH THE OFFICIAL STORY CONTINUING TO EXIST THAT A PRIVATE

COMPANY ( THE HKND GROUP ) AND ITS SOLE OWNER ( WANG JING ) ARE FINANCING AND BUILDING

THIS $50 BILLION CANAL, NO PRESSURE CAN BE BROUGHT AGAINST CHINA AS A NATION IN THIS

NEWLY FORMED EXPANSION OF TERRITORY, BECAUSE CHINA TECHNICALLY IS NOT EXPANDING. THE

WORLD HAS BEEN ROOKED BY A KNIGHT.

ACTE III : THE DARK KNIGHT & THE DARK NIGHT

IT HAS BEEN SAID OF WANG JING'S BATCAVE OFFICE IN HONG KONG THAT IT

RESEMBLES A ROOM ENSHRINED TO THE HISTORY OF WAR IN CHINA, WITH FULL SCALE ARMAMENTS

AND A LARGE PAINTING OF GREAT CHINESE MILITARY LEADERS. THE URBAN LEGEND EXISTS ( WHICH

WANG JING DENIES ) THAT HE IS THE SON OF A GREAT GENERAL WHO DIED PERHAPS BEFORE HE

WAS BORN, OR EARLY IN HIS LIFE, -- [ THIS URBAN LEGEND AGAIN IS PURELY APOCRYPHAL AT

PRESENT, IT THUS MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE ]. AS THE LEADER OF A PURELY PRIVATE VENTURE,

THE HKND GROUP [ " HKND " STANDS FOR HONG KONG NICARAGUA CANAL DEVELOPMENT

INVESTMENT COMPANY ], INTO A NATION ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PLANET, AND WITHIN

ONE OF THE MOST ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT ZONES ON EARTH, MR. JING PREPARES FOR THIS

GARGANTUAN INTEROCEANIC PROJECT IN NEAR SECRECY : THE BIOLOGISTS, ENGINEERS, AND

OVERSEERS OF THE PROJECT ARE ALL UNDER OATHS OF STRICT CONFIDENTIALITY, AND BOTH

MR. JING AND THE HKND GROUP HAVE IGNORED MOST INQUIRIES FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF THIS PROPOSED CANAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND IN HUMAN RELOCATION,

( THE HKND GROUP IS TO THIS DAY HUSHED ON HOW THIS DISPLACEMENT OF NICARAGUANS

INCLUDING INDIGENOUS TRIBES FROM THEIR NATIVE LANDS WILL OCCUR ) ARE DESERVING OF

INCREASED MEDIA & SCIENTIFIC ATTENTION, PARTICULARLY REGARDING THE DISTURBANCE TO THE

INDIGENOUS TRIBES OF NICARAGUA, WHO HAVE NOT BEEN CONSULTED BY EITHER CHINA NOR THE

NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT IN REGARDS TO THIS FUTURE INFRINGEMENT UPON THEIR LANDS, AN

ACT AS ILLEGAL IN INTERNATIONAL TERMS AS THE FORCED RELOCATION OF THE CHEROKEE AND

CHOCTAW IN THE 1830s. THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT DEAL INCLUDES MORE THAN JUST THE

278 KILOMETER CANAL ( WITH A WIDTH VARYING FROM 230 TO 520 METERS, TO A DEPTH OF

27.6 METERS ) : UNDER THE CONCESSION AGREEMENT, TWO DEEPWATER PORTS WOULD BE

CONSTRUCTED, A RAILROAD, AN OIL PIPELINE, TWO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS, OVERLAND ROADS &

INFRASTRUCTURE, AN ELECTRICITY PLANT, FACTORIES TO PRODUCE CEMENT AND EXPLOSIVES, A

GOLF COURSE ZONE, MULTIPLE FREE TRADE ZONES, AND AT LEAST ONE ARTIFICIAL RESERVOIR

( THE CHINESE ENGINEER DONG YUNG SONG HAS CLAIMED AN ARTIFICIAL LAKE OVER 400 SQUARE

KILOMETERS ( 154 SQUARE MILES ) WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AS PART OF THE CANAL'S DESIGN TO FILL

THE GIANT LOCKS ON ONE SIDE OF ITS COURSEWAY ). AS THE CONCESSION DOESN'T SPECIFY

GEOGRAPHIC LIMITS, THE HKND GROUP HAS IN EFFECT SOVEREIGNTY TO USE WHICHEVER LANDS

THEY NEED WITHIN THE BORDERS OF NICARAGUA TOWARDS THE COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT ;

FULL POWER IS GRANTED TO THE HKND GROUP ( AKA CHINA ) WITHIN THE CANAL ZONE, WHERE

THEY CAN REGULATE AND CONTROL THE COMMERCIAL INTEREST, EFFECTIVELY BECOMING A BRANCH,

ALBEIT DETACHED, OF MAINLAND CHINA ITSELF. IMAGINE FOR ONE MOMENT THAT THE VAST

PACIFIC OCEAN WERE AS A RIVER BORDERING THE SHORES OF CHINA AND NICARAGUA, AND

SUDDENLY THIS PLANNED EXTENSION OF CHINA'S GLOBAL TERRITORY AND GRAND CANAL SYSTEM

UPON THE AMERICAS AND HER NATURAL RESOURCES IS MOST CLEARLY RECOGNIZED. THE LARGEST

INTEROCEANIC CANAL IN THE WORLD IS COMING, AND CHINA WILL BE ITS GATEKEEPER.

THE SCOPE OF THIS PAPER IS NOT TOO BELITTLE MR. WANG JING AND HIS COMPANY

( THE HKND GROUP ), NOR IS AN ATTACK MEANT UPON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ; CHINA

THRU ITS PROCLIVITY IN MANUFACTURING THE GOODS WHICH THE DEVELOPED WORLD CONSUMES

IS AFTER ALL ONLY RESPONDING TO THESE DEMANDS WITHIN THE CONSUMERIST FRAMEWORK OF

AN EVER BURGEONING SUPPLY. MR. WANG JING, TO HIS CREDIT, IS A MAN OF HIGH INTELLIGENCE,

WHOSE CRYPTIC EXPLANATIONS REGARDING THE PLANNED CANAL HAVE AFFORDED HIM NEAR

COMPLETE RADIO SILENCE, LARGELY UNDER THE RADAR OF EARLY 21ST MEDIA OUTLETS. THE HKND

GROUP WEBSITE IS WELL ORGANIZED WITH SUCCINCT MISSION STATEMENTS AND TEAM GOALS

REGARDING THE PROPOSED CANAL : THE " OUR MISSION " SECTION OF THE HKND WEBSITE LISTS

SIX PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE THEIR ACTIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS CANAL. YET WHEN THE

FIRST PRINCIPLE " INTEGRITY -- OPENNESS, TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY " HAS RECEIVED

QUESTIONABLE COMPLIANCE, INCLUDING AT THE TOP LEVELS OF THIS ORGANIZATION, THE OTHER

LISTED PRINCIPLES OF " RESPECT FOR PEOPLE " AND " SENSITIVITY TO SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACT " SUDDENLY BECOME SUSPECT. AS MR. JING AND HIS HKND GROUP HAVE NEVER BUILT

ANYTHING NEAR IN SCOPE AND WORLDWIDE IMPORTANCE AS THIS PROPOSED CANAL, AN EXPOSITION

OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CURRENT CHINESE BUILT CANALS (PARTICULARLY WITHIN CHINA

ITSELF) IS WARRANTED AS A MEASURE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE; IF THE

GRAND CANAL SYSTEM OF CHINA ( AS DETAILED IN ACTE I ) IS ANY INDICATION, THE CHINESE

HAVE A MUCH HIGHER TOLERANCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND ASSOCIATED CLIMATE

CHANGE THAN THE MAJORITY OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT STANDS IN THE

WAY OF DOLLARS ENTERING THEIR ECONOMY. A CONTINUED STUMBLING BLOCK TO MUCH NEEDED

REFORMS REGARDING INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BEEN THE SO - CALLED LIKE MINDED

GROUP OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, CHIEF AMONG THIS BLOCK BEING IRAN, SAUDI ARABIA, IRAQ,

VENEZUELA, INDIA, AND CHINA ; THE 2014 UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE HELD

IN LIMA, PERU ( IN EARLY DECEMBER ) WAS CONSIDERED A FAILURE BY MOST ENVIRONMENTAL

GROUPS AND SCIENTISTS LARGELY DUE TO THE OBSTINATE NATURE OF THE LIKE MINDED GROUP

( LMDC ) TO BUDGE FROM THEIR MEAGER POSITIONS ON AVERTING FUTURE GLOBAL CLIMATE

CHANGE. IT IS CURIOUS THAT A LARGE SEGMENT OF THE LIKE MINDED GROUP IS COMPRISED

EITHER OF NATIONS WHICH SUPPLY VAST AMOUNTS OF THE CRUDE OIL SO OFTEN IMPLICATED AS

A MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE, OR THE NATIONS ( CHINA AND

INDIA ) WHICH ARE TWO OF OIL'S MOST LOYAL CONSUMERS. IT IS TO BE EXPECTED THAT AN

INDUSTRY IN A FREE GLOBAL MARKET WILL ATTEMPT TO PROLONG ITS SURVIVAL ( AND OFTEN AT

ALL COSTS NECESSARY ), BUT IT IS DISCONCERTING TO FIND THAT THERE ARE FEW SAFEGUARDS

AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL TO PREVENT INDUSTRIES FROM REAPING VAST PROFITS FOR THE

PRESENT ( AND THE SELECT FEW ) AT THE EXPENSE OF BOTH THE FUTURE ECONOMY AND THE

FUTURE ENVIRONMENT OF THE WORLD AT LARGE. DOES CHINA LOOK AT ITS POLLUTED LAKES

AND WATERWAYS AS THE PRICE OF BUSINESS, AND AS THE COST OF ECONOMIC COMPETITION

AND GLOBAL DOMINANCE ? DO THE RIVERS OF NICARAGUA ALREADY APPEAR RED TO THE EYES

OF WANG JING, WITH THE CANAL AS A COVERT CHINESE EXPANSION INTO THE AMERICAS ? WILL

MR. WANG JING HIMSELF BE A FUTURE WAR HERO OF CHINA, JOINING THOSE EMBLAZONED ON

HIS OFFICE WALLS AS THE ARMAMENTS AND BATTLEFIELDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY BECOME HIS

DARK SUIT AND BLUE TIE, ON A BATTLEFIELD OF CONCESSIONS AND CANALS, WHERE THE PEN HAS

REPLACED THE SWORD WITH EXPONENTIALLY MORE LETHAL EFFECT ? OR IS MR. WANG JING AS

A SUPERHERO IN REVERSE, FEIGNING CHARITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP ONLY TO

MAKE THE RICH RICHER AND THE MONEYED SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS OF CHINA'S ECONOMY

PROSPEROUS AT THE EXPENSE OF LAKE COCIBOLCA AND THE RESOURCES OF LATIN AMERICA ?

WILL THE DARK KNIGHT BEGET AN EVEN DARKER NIGHT UPON THE HEAVY HISTORY OF CENTRAL

AND SOUTH AMERICA ; WILL THE EXISTENCE OF THE HONG KONG CANAL WITHIN NICARAGUA LEAD

TO THE NON - EXISTENCE OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND ASSOCIATED TROPICAL REGIONS, AS

DEPLETION OF THESE NATURAL RESOURCES ( SEE 500 YEARS OF SOLITUDE ) CLIMBS EVER CLOSER

TOWARDS DELETION ?

ACTE IV : THE INVISIBLE PLAGUE

IN THE YEARS OF THE FIRST WAVE OF CONQUISTADORES UPON THE SOILS OF

THE AMERICAS, A SICKNESS DESCENDED UPON THE LAND, ONE WHICH COULD NOT BE SEEN BUT

WHICH WOULD DECIMATE TRIBES AND SPREAD UNKNOWINGLY TO NEIGHBORING VILLAGES. THIS

SICKNESS OF PARTICULAR VIRULENCE TO THE INDIGENOUS INHABITANTS OF THE AMERICAS WAS

SMALLPOX, A DISEASE WHICH PRODUCED PUSTULES ALL OVER THE BODY, AND IN SOME TRIBES

WAS NINETY PER CENT FATAL. THE CONQUISTADORES OF EUROPE BROUGHT THIS SCOURGE FROM

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, ONE WHICH THEY CARRIED INCREASED IMMUNITY AGAINST THRU THE

THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY ( WITH CATTLE AND PIGS IN PARTICULAR ) WHICH

RAN THROUGH THEIR COLLECTIVE DNA. RECENT EPIDEMICS WITHIN EUROPE OF SMALLPOX AND

THE PLAGUE RAN LARGE SEGMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN POPULATION THRU A FURTHER PROCESS

OF NATURAL SELECTION ; IN ADDITION, THE EURASIAN HISTORY OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY CONFERRED

A FURTHER PROTECTION WITH THE EXISTENCE OF COWPOX. AS DR. JOHN FEWSTER OBSERVED IN

HIS 1765 PAPER " COW POX AND ITS ABILITY TO PREVENT SMALLPOX ", AND DR. EDWARD JENNER

FAMOUSLY STUDIED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS SMALLPOX VACCINE, HUMAN EXPOSURE TO COW

POX CONFERRED SIGNIFICANT LEVELS OF IMMUNITY AGAINST SMALLPOX ; TO THIS DAY, DR. JENNER

IS CREDITED WITH SAVING MORE LIVES THRU HIS WORK IN IMMUNOLOGY THAN ANY OTHER HUMAN.

THE EXISTENCE OF CERTAIN ANIMAL SPECIES WITHIN THE OLD WORLD AND THEIR PROXIMITY TO

HUMAN DWELLING SPACES HAD THUS UNWITTINGLY LED TO BOTH THE PROMULGATION OF DIVERSE

COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND THEIR CURES IN CERTAIN INSTANCES ; JENNER'S VACCINE CAME TOO

LATE TO SAVE THE SCORES AND EVEN HUNDREDS OF DISTINCT TRIBES AND UNIQUE CULTURES

WIPED OUT TO EXTINCTION THROUGHOUT NORTH, CENTRAL, AND SOUTH AMERICA. THIS LOSS OF

A SUBSTANTIAL GENETIC SEGMENT OF THE WORLD POPULATION IS IMMEASURABLE AND ONE OF THE

MOST DISASTROUS ( IN TERMS OF LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC DATA ) IN HUMAN HISTORY.

THE DESOLATION WHICH SMALLPOX ALONE WROT UPON THE ABORIGINAL

INHABITANTS OF THE AMERICAS WAS OF DEVASTATING EFFICIENCY. FROM CORTES' SECOND VISIT

TO THE CAPITAL CITY OF THE AZTECS ( TENOCHTITLAN ) IN 1520, SMALLPOX WAS PRESENT IN THE

BODY OF ONE SOLDIER INFECTED FROM AN OUTBREAK IN HISPANIOLA. THIS SOLDIER DIED DURING

THE EVENTUAL BATTLE AND OVERTHROW OF THE SPANISH FORCES BY THE AZTECS, WHERE IT IS

BELIEVED THE DISEASE SPREAD FROM THE DEAD BODY OF THIS INFECTED SOLDIER. SMALLPOX SOON

RAVAGED THE ENTIRE AZTEC NATION : WHEN HERNAN CORTES RETURNED IN AUGUST 1521, HE

FOUND MOST OF HIS BUTCHERY ALREADY DONE FOR HIM. SMALLPOX IN THE PERIOD OF EIGHTEEN

MONTHS HAD KILLED THE MAJORITY OF THE AZTEC ARMY, AND ALREADY TWENTY FIVE PER CENT

OF THE ENTIRE AZTEC POPULATION. THE FRANCISCAN PRIEST MOTOLINIA RECORDED THAT " AS THE

[ NATIVE AMERICANS ] DID NOT KNOW THE REMEDY OF THE DISEASE ... THEY DIED IN HEAPS, LIKE

BEDBUGS. IN MANY PLACES IT HAPPENED THAT EVERYONE IN A HOUSE DIED AND, AS IT WAS

IMPOSSIBLE TO BURY THE GREATER NUMBER OF DEAD, THEY PULLED DOWN THE HOUSES OVER THEM

SO THAT THEIR HOMES BECAME THEIR TOMBS. " THE SPANISH SOLDIERS SAID OF THAT YEAR THAT

YOU COULD NOT WALK THRU THE STREETS WITHOUT STEPPING ON THE BODIES OF SMALLPOX

VICTIMS. EVEN MORE VIRULENT OUTBREAKS OF SMALLPOX WOULD OCCUR OVER THE NEXT TWO

HUNDRED YEARS, WIPING OUT AN ESTIMATED 74 PER CENT OF THE INCAN POPULATION ( INCLUDING

THE ELEVENTH INCAN EMPEROR HUAYNA CAPAC ), AND DECIMATING TRIBES FROM AMAZONIA TO

ARGENTINA, AND FROM THE ATLANTIC WATERS OF NORTH AMERICA TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.

THOUGH BOTH THE INDIGENOUS AMERICANS AND INVADING EUROPEANS WERE OF THE SAME

BIOLOGICAL SPECIES ( HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS ), ONE SUBSET OF THIS SPECIES HELD AN

UNINTENDED IMMUNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE ; THUS THE INVISIBLE PLAGUE OF THE SMALLPOX VIRUS

LED TO THE EXTINCTION OF HUNDREDS OF NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES, LANGUAGES, AND CULTURES

DURING THE THREE HUNDRED YEARS FOLLOWING THE CONQUEST AND BEYOND.

ALTHOUGH THIS DREADED SCOURGE HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ERADICATED FROM THE EARTH

SINCE 1979 ( AND THUS NO LONGER POSES A THREAT TO HUMAN POPULATIONS ), THE SPECTRE OF

SMALLPOX STANDS TODAY AS A HAUNTING REMINDER OF THE DESTRUCTION WHICH CAN OCCUR IN

CERTAIN SCENARIOS INVOLVING ISOLATED POPULATIONS MEETING AN INVASIVE SPECIES. THIS FIRST

CONTACT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN CONQUISTADORS AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES OF THE NEW

WORLD WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED COLLISION BETWEEN TWO ENTIRELY DISTINCT PEOPLES WITH

THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF EVOLUTION BETWEEN THEM. FROM AN UNPRECEDENTED COLLISION CAME

FORTH UNPRECEDENTED CALAMITY, AS MILLIONS SUCCUMBED TO A SINGLE VIRUS CARRIED BY ONE

DEAD SPANIARD, A DOUBLE STRANDED DNA GENOME OF ONLY 186 KILOBASE PAIRS. THE RAPID

MUTABILITY AND POTENTIAL TO EVOLVE OF NOT ONLY VIRUSES ( SUCH AS THE VARIOLA VIRUS )

BUT OTHER MICROORGANISMS SUCH AS BACTERIA, PARASITIC PROTOZOA, AND FUNGI DEMONSTRATE

THE INCREASED POTENTIAL FOR THE NEARLY INVISIBLE TO AFFECT MACROORGANISMS AND EVEN

ENTIRE ECOSYSTEMS IN A SUDDEN AND DELETERIOUS MANNER.

WHAT DOES THE SMALLPOX STORY HAVE TO DO WITH THE PLANNED HONG KONG

CANAL THRU NICARAGUA ? NOTHING, AND EVERYTHING. AS ARGUED BY DR. THOMAS LOVEJOY

( SENIOR FELLOW OF THE UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION AND PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY ), THE UNKNOWNS OF THE PLANNED CANAL ( SET TO BE

MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE LENGTH OF THE PANAMA CANAL ) CREATE " THE POTENTIAL FOR AN

ENORMOUS INVASIVE SPECIES PROBLEM ", PARTICULARLY DUE TO THE UNIQUE TOPOLOGY WHICH THE

CANAL WOULD TRAVERSE, INCLUDING LAKE COCIBOLCA ( THE LARGEST FRESHWATER LAKE IN CENTRAL

AMERICA ). REMEMBERING THAT FROM ONE SPANIARD INFECTED WITH THE SMALLPOX VIRUS CAME

THE MICROBIAL MASSACRE OF OVER ONE MILLION AZTECS, THE JOINING OF THE PACIFIC WATERS

WITH THE ATLANTIC THRU LAKE COCIBOLCA COULD PRECIPITATE THE PERFECT CAULDRON OF

CIRCUMSTANCES TO ALLOW ROGUE MARINE AND MICROBIAL SPECIES FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE

ATLANTIC ( OR VICE VERSA ), AFFECTING COMPETING OR ENTIRELY UNRELATED SPECIES WITH

POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC RESULTS. DR. LOVEJOY FORECASTS, DEPENDING ON THE YET - TO - BE -

RELEASED SPECIFICS OF THE PROPOSED CANAL, " A DISRUPTION OF CARIBBEAN FISHERIES FROM AN

INFLUX OF COMPETING SPECIES, PREDATORS, AND DISEASE ", WHICH COULD POSSIBLY " INCLUDE

VENOMOUS PACIFIC SEA SNAKES INVADING THE CARIBBEAN " AMIDST OTHER UNFORESEEN COLLISIONS

OF ISOLATED SPECIES ENDEMIC TO ONE OCEAN BEING CONFRONTED WITH A CONQUISTADOR SPECIES

FROM THE OTHER. AS NASA'S CURIOSITY ROVER EXPLORES THE GALE CRATER ON MARS FOR SIGNS

OF CARBON BASED LIFE PRESENT OR PAST, ONE WONDERS IF A SIMILAR ROBOTIC PROBE WILL EVER

BE LAUNCHED WITHIN NICARAGUA, TO STUDY THE LIFEFORMS ALREADY VANISHING FROM ONE OF

THE LAST REMAINING TROPICAL PARADISES ON EARTH. THE FASCINATION OF UFOLOGISTS WITH AN

INVASION FROM MARS UPON UNSUSPECTING EARTHLINGS CAN PERHAPS TODAY BE FIRMLY LAID

WITHIN THE REALM OF MYTHS AND OF FICTION; IT IS NOT AN INVASION FROM ANOTHER PLANET

WHICH WE NEED BE PREOCCUPIED WITH, BUT AN INTRASPECIES INVASION, WHERE THE CONQUEST

YEARS CONTINUE, THIS TIME SWITCHING FROM THE HUMAN POPULATIONS OF SPAIN AND MEXICO

COLLIDING IN THE 1520s ( AFTER PERHAPS A 40,000 YEAR POPULATION SEPARATION ), TO THE

PROJECTED COLLISION IN THE 2020s OF ATLANTIC MICROBIOTA AND MARINE LIFE WITH THE PACIFIC,

AFTER A PERHAPS EVEN LONGER CHASM IN EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY BETWEEN THE OCEANS' SPECIES.

WILL A HERNAN CORTES - LIKE PACIFIC SPECIES INVADE THE GREENER WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC,

POTENTIALLY DECIMATING KEYSTONE MARINE POPULATIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA ? WILL A

PIZARROESQUE MARINE ANIMAL OR MICROBE ATTACK AN UNSUSPECTING POPULATION NOW THRIVING

WITHIN PACIFIC WATERS ? THE EASTERN PORT OF THE PLANNED CANAL CONNECTS WITH THE

ATLANTIC OCEAN JUST SOUTH OF THE SECOND LARGEST CORAL REEF IN THE WORLD; WOULD IT BE

A QUESTION OF TIME BEFORE A ROGUE MARINE INVADER OR DISEASE PROVIDED A CRUSHING BLOW

TO THIS ALREADY FRAGILE ECOGARDEN WITH ITS RARE UNDERWATER BEAUTY AND BIODIVERSITY ?

PERHAPS THE GREATEST ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN OF ALL IN REGARDS TO THIS

PROPOSED CANAL IS ITS POTENTIAL FOR IRREVERSIBLE DESTRUCTION AND CONTAMINATION TO THE

GREAT LAKE COCIBOLCA, HOME TO SEVERAL ENDEMIC SPECIES OF CICHLIDS AND POECILIIDS, AS

WELL AS TARPONS, SAWFISH, & A SEVERELY THREATENED SPECIES OF SHARK. THE UNIQUE BIOTA

OF NOT ONLY THE WATERS OF THIS LAKE, BUT THE SURROUNDING WETLANDS AND RARE CRATER

LAKES OF THE COCIBOLCA REGION ( WHERE EACH LAKE IS AS AN EVOLUTIONARY ISLAND ), ALL

FACE DARK CLOUDS TO THEIR CONTINUED EXISTENCE FROM NOT ONLY THE POTENTIAL FOR

SPILLAGE AND CONTAMINATION FROM THE MANY FREIGHT SHIPS WHICH WOULD TRAVERSE THE

CANAL, BUT IN THE CREATION OF THE CANAL ITSELF. AS LAKE COCIBOLCA AVERAGES A DEPTH

OF 50 FEET, AND THE CANAL DIMENSIONS SPECIFY A DEPTH OF OVER 90 FEET, THE GREAT LAKE

COCIBOLCA WOULD BE SUBMITTED TO A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC DREDGING, WHERE MUD AND

SEDIMENT FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR WOULD BE DUG UP IN A PROCESS SEVERELY IMPACTING THE

WATER QUALITY OF LAKE COCIBOLCA AND ITS SURROUNDING WETLANDS. AS A MULTITUDE OF

OTHER LAND SPECIES ( FROM HOWLER MONKEYS AND TAPIRS TO DIVERSE TROPICAL BIRDS AND EVEN

JAGUARS ) ARE CONNECTED TO THE FOOD CHAIN AND MARINE LIFE FROM LAKE COCIBOLCA, THE

DREDGING OF THIS GREAT LAKE WOULD HAVE A POTENTIALLY DAMNING EFFECT UPON THE ENTIRE

ECOSYSTEM WITHIN THIS REGION. THERE IS LASTLY ANOTHER KEYSTONE SPECIES DEARLY DEPENDENT

UPON LAKE COCIBOLCA AS A SOURCE OF FRESHWATER FOR BOTH DRINKING AND IRRIGATION : THE

HUMAN SPECIES. WITHIN THE DEPTHS OF THEIR WORST DROUGHT IN 32 YEARS, A DROUGHT SO

SEVERE THAT THE NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT HAS STARTED ADVISING ITS PEOPLE TO RAISE AND EAT

IGUANAS ( WHICH CONSUME LESS WATER THAN CHICKENS ), NICARAGUA NOW FACES THE MOST

HORRIFIC OF THREATS TO THEIR LARGEST SOURCE OF FRESHWATER FROM THIS PROPOSED CANAL.

AS THE SECOND POOREST NATION IN THE ENTIRE WESTERN HEMISPHERE ( ONLY HAITI IS MORE

POVERTY STRICKEN ), MORE THAN HALF OF NICARAGUANS LIVE ON LESS THAN $1 A DAY. CLEAN

WATER IS NICARAGUA'S MOST CRITICAL RESOURCE WITH AN EYE TOWARDS THE FUTURE, WITH THE

GREAT LAKE COCIBOLCA AS NICARAGUA'S GREATEST RESERVOIR. EFFORTS SHOULD BE MADE, BY THE

NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT WITH ASSISTANCE FROM DEVELOPED NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD, TO

CLEAN UP THIS GREAT LAKE FROM THE POLLUTIONS OF DUMPED SEWAGE AND CONTAMINATING

INDUSTRIES, AND LEAST OF ALL TO RUN A MAJOR INTEROCEANIC CANAL DIRECTLY THRU ITS

WATERS, IRREVERSIBLY ALTERING THE WATER QUALITY THRU DREDGING, AND INCREASING THE

ODSS FOR AN OIL SPILL OR CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION FROM A FUTURE SUPERTANKER. BUT

WHERE IS THE NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR

GREAT NATURAL RESOURCES ? WILL FUTURE NICARAGUANS BE CHINESE, CONQUERERS OF A

PEOPLE USED AS A FUNNEL AND GIVEN AWAY TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, HEIRS AND HEIRESS TO

THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF - PERPETUATING GARGANTUAN CAPITALISM WITHIN THE COSTUMES OF

COMMUNISM ? BUT WHICH LEADER, WHICH PRESIDENT WOULD GIVE HIS PEOPLE AWAY FOR A

CLOSED DOORS DEAL, FOREVER ALTERING THE NATURAL BALANCE OF NICARAGUA'S RAINFORESTS

AND THE GREAT LAKE COCIBOLCA ?

ACTE V : THE NOT SO GREAT DICTATOR

IN 1939, FILMING BEGAN IN HOLLYWOOD FOR THE GREAT DICTATOR, CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S

FIRST TRUE TALKING PICTURE, WHICH HE WROTE, PRODUCED, AND DIRECTED, AS WELL AS STARRING

IN TWO OF ITS MAJOR ROLES. ONE OF THESE ROLES WAS THE GREAT DICTATOR OF TOMAINIA,

ADENOID HYNKEL, AT TIMES VAGUELY REMINISCENT OF ONE ADOLF HITLER IN CHAPLIN'S DAFT

MANNERISMS AND ANTICS. IT WAS A TOTAL ATTACK, OF PHILOSOPHY AND COMEDY, A SATIRICAL

SWIPE AT A RULER ( HITLER ) WHO WAS SO FAR INTO THE RED AS TO BE REACHABLE ONLY BY THE

ARTFORMS OF ABSURDITY, TO UNMASK THE MASK ITSELF. AS WE APPROACH THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

OF THIS FILM'S RELEASE, ONE WONDERS WHERE ARE THE CHAPLINS OF TODAY, TO CREATE A

SATIRICAL EXPOSITION UPON ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS OF DICTATORS WITHIN THE LAST TWO

HUNDRED YEARS OF LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY. HIS NAME IS JOSE DANIEL ORTEGA SAAVEDRA.

THE LIFE OF THIS NOT SO GREAT DICTATOR BEGAN INNOCENTLY ENOUGH, ON

NOVEMBER 11, 1945, BEING BORN IN A TOWN WITHIN NICARAGUA WHICH TRANSLATES AS " LIBERTY "

( LA LIBERTAD ). FROM AN EARLY AGE, THE YOUNG DANIEL ORTEGA WAS INCULCATED WITH BITTER

HATRED TOWARDS THE GREAT NICARAGUAN DICTATOR OF 1936 - 1956, PRESIDENT ANASTASIO SOMOZA

GARCIA. BEFORE USURPING POWER IN 1936, THIS SAME ANASTASIO SOMOZA GARCIA ORDERED THE

ASSASSINATION OF AUGUSTO CESAR SANDINO (A REVOLUTIONARY HERO IDOLIZED BY THE SANDINISTAS)

WHO HAD FOUGHT THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF NICARAGUA BETWEEN 1927 AND 1933. ONCE IN OFFICE

( THRU A RIGGED ELECTION WHERE HE WON THE POPULAR VOTE BY A MARGIN OF 107,201 TO 100

VOTES ), SOMOZA QUICKLY AMENDED THE CONSTITUTION TO CENTRALIZE ALL POWER UNDER HIS

CONTROL, INSTALLING FAMILY MEMBERS AND SOMOZA LOYALISTS TO KEY POSITIONS WITHIN THE

NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY. SOMOZA SYSTEMATICALLY MASSACRED FOLLOWERS OF

SANDINO, USURPING THEIR LANDS, AS WELL AS THE LANDS OF THE ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT

GERMAN COMMUNITY. BY 1944, PRESIDENT SOMOZA WAS THE LARGEST LANDOWNER IN NICARAGUA,

OWNING 56 CATTLE RANCHES, 46 COFFEE PLANTATIONS, AND SEVERAL SUGAR MILLS, WITH ALL

THESE COMMODITIES ENJOYING FREE TRANSPORT VIA THE PACIFIC RAILROAD WHICH SOMOZA HAD

DECLARED HIMSELF DIRECTOR OF. ANASTASIO SOMOZA GARCIA FURTHERED HIS GARGANTUAN

FORTUNE BY GRANTING CONCESSIONS TO FOREIGN CORPORATIONS TO EXTRACT GOLD, RUBBER, &

TIMBER FROM NICARAGUA'S FORESTS, AND THRU NUMEROUS BRIBES DERIVED FROM GAMBLING, RUM

DISTILLERIES, & PROSTITUTION RINGS. BY 1950, THE PERSONAL FORTUNE OF THIS FIRST IN THE

SOMOZA DYNASTY WAS INCALCULABLY MORE THAN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POOR

VILLAGERS AND INDIGENOUS TRIBES WHICH SURROUNDED THESE SMALL ENCLAVES OF ABOUNDING

LUXURY AND SOMOZIAN DEBAUCHERY.

IN 1950 , ANASTASIO SOMOZA GARCIA WAS REELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF NICARAGUA

IN A HEAVILY RIGGED ELECTION AND, AFTER CONSOLIDATING FURTHER MOVES TOWARDS PERSONAL

POWER AND WEALTH BENEFITTING HIS FAMILY DYNASTY AND LOYALISTS, DEVISED AN AMENDMENT

TO THE CONSTITUTION ALLOWING HIM TO RUN FOR ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL TERM. STOPPED ONLY

BY THE BULLET OF A POET -- RIGOBERTO LOPEZ PEREZ, ON SEPTEMBER 21, 1956 -- THE SOMOZA

EMPIRE CARRIED ON STILL THRU THE TWO SONS OF ANASTASIO (LUIS SOMOZA DEBAYLE & ANASTASIO

SOMOZA DEBAYLE ), THE SOMOZA STRANGLEGRIP ON POWER BEING FINALLY HALTED IN 1979 BY THE

F.S.L.N. ( SANDINISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT ). THE SANDINISTAS APPOINTED ONE OF THEIR

OWN INTO THE FIVE PERSON JUNTA OF NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION, A MAN WHO ONLY 16 YEARS

PREVIOUS HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED BANK ROBBERY ( BRANDISHING A MACHINE GUN IN

THE 1963 ATTEMPTED HEIST OF A BANK OF AMERICA ). NOW, WITH 8 OF THOSE SIXTEEN YEARS

SERVED IN A TORTUROUS NICARAGUAN PRISON ( 1967 - 1974 ), THIS MAN WAS THE HEAD OF THE

" TERCERISTAS " OR THIRD WAY MOVEMENT, WHICH ALLIED THE F.S.L.N. MORE CLOSELY WITH THE

RIGHT WING OPPOSITION IN A COMPROMISE TO OVERTHROW SOMOZA. THIS MAN'S NAME WAS JOSE

DANIEL ORTEGA SAAVEDRA.

IN THIS INTERIM PERIOD BETWEEN THE OVERTHROWING OF THE SOMOZA DYNASTY

( JULY 1979 ) AND THE ELECTIONS OF 1984, ORTEGA HAD BECOME THE EFFECTIVE LEADER OF

NICARAGUA, BEING THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE FSLN NATIONAL DIRECTORATE WITHIN THE FIVE -

PERSON JUNTA ( COUNCIL ) OF NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION. AS THE FSLN WASTED NO TIME IN

EXERTING DOMINION OVER THE JUNTA, TWO OF THE JUNTA'S MEMBERS ( ALFONSO ROBELO AND

VIOLETA BARRIOS DE CHAMORRO ) RESIGNED, AND IN 1981 ORTEGA BECAME THE COORDINATOR OF

THE JUNTA. ORTEGA QUICKLY LAUNCHED AN ENORMOUS REDISTRIBUTION OF LAND ( OVER FIVE

MILLION ACRES OF NICARAGUA ) WHICH BY 1982 HAD DISPLACED OVER TEN THOUSAND INDIGENOUS

NICARAGUANS, INCLUDING THE MASSACRE OF MEMBERS OF THE MISKITO TRIBE AND THE

IMPRISONMENT OF OVER 14,000 MORE NICARAGUAN NATIVES. THOUSANDS MORE FLED TO REFUGEE

CAMPS IN NEIGHBORING HONDURAS DURING ORTEGA'S POLICIES OF REMOVAL AND EXPUNGEMENT,

WITH MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE FROM NICARAGUA'S INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES FLEEING

DURING THE ENSUING CIVIL WAR ( 1982 - 1989 ) BETWEEN THE SANDINISTAS AND THE CONTRAS. BY

1990, OVER 30,000 NICARAGUANS WERE DEAD, WITH MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE INJURED,

ROBBED, & DISPLACED FROM THEIR NATIVE LANDS. THE NICARAGUAN PEOPLE HAD SEEN A TERRIBLE

SITUATION TURNED HORRIBLE, AND HAD WITNESSED ENOUGH BRUTALITY : IN 1990, ORTEGA RAN FOR

REELECTION AND WAS DEFEATED BY VIOLETA BARRIOS DE CHAMORRO.

ORTEGA RAN FOR PRESIDENT AGAIN IN 1996, AND AGAIN IN 2001, LOSING BOTH

TIMES. IN THIS 16 YEAR PERIOD OUT OF POWER AND THE PRESIDENCY, DANIEL PONDERED THE

SURVIVORSHIP NECESSITY TO MAKE PACTS WITH FORMER ENEMIES ( AS HE HAD PROPOSED DURING

HIS TERCERISTAS DAYS ) IN ORDER TO GET WHAT HE WANTED : POWER. AFTER LOSING THE 1996

ELECTION, ORTEGA MADE A NON - AGGRESSION PACT WITH PRESIDENT ARNOLDO ALEMAN IN

EXCHANGE FOR A LOWERING OF THE THRESHOLD FOR ELECTORAL VICTORY TO 35 % OF THE VOTE

( WHICH WOULD PROVE CRUCIAL IN THE 2006 ELECTIONS, AS WE SHALL SEE ). ORTEGA ALSO MADE

A BEHIND CLOSED DOORS DEAL WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ; THE VOTES FROM THE CHURCH'S

ENDORSEMENT WOULD GUARANTEE ORTEGA'S VICTORY IN THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS, IN EXCHANGE

FOR AN EXTREMELY STRICT BAN ON ABORTION ( INCLUDING IF THE MOTHER'S LIFE WAS IN DANGER ).

THE DEAL WAS MADE, ORTEGA RAN FOR REELECTION IN 2006 AND, ( WITH THE ENDORSEMENT OF

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ) WON BY 38 % OF THE VOTE, JUST CLEARING THE RECENTLY REDUCED 35 %

THRESHOLD FOR VICTORY. THAT SAME ELECTION YEAR ( 2006 ) SAW ORTEGA PUSH THRU

LEGISLATION BANNING ABORTION IN ALL CASES OF RAPE AND INCEST, AND EVEN TO SAVE THE LIFE

OF THE MOTHER. HE HAD NEEDED TO BARGAIN HIS WAY, BUT ORTEGA WAS BACK IN POWER.

FROM 2006 TO THE PRESENT, JOSE DANIEL ORTEGA SAAVEDRA HAS BEEN PRESIDENT

OF NICARAGUA. HE HAS USED THIS TIME TO STRATEGICALLY PLACE FAMILY MEMBERS AND ORTEGA

LOYALISTS IN KEY POSITIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA, LAYING DOWN THE FOUNDATIONS

FOR A FUTURE ORTEGA DYNASTY AS POTENTIALLY UNDYING AND TYRANNICAL AS SOMOZA'S. LIKE

SOMOZA, PRESIDENT ORTEGA PRESENTED THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ( IN 2013 ) WITH A PACKAGE OF

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS INCLUDING THE PROVISION FOR PRESIDENT ORTEGA TO BE REELECTED

INDEFINITELY. LIKE SOMOZA, PRESIDENT ORTEGA NOW SEEKS TO FURTHER HIS GARGANTUAN

FORTUNE BY GRANTING CONCESSIONS TO A FOREIGN CORPORATION ( AND WORSE, A COUNTRY ) TO

EXTRACT THE MODERN DAY EQUIVALENT OF SOMOZA'S GOLD, RUBBER, & TIMBER : OIL & GAS FROM

VENEZUELA, IRON ORE, SOY, & BEEF FROM BRAZIL, AND THE TIMBERS WHICH MAKE UP THE

MESOAMERICAN BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR WHICH THIS PROPOSED CANAL WOULD CLEAVE, DISRUPTING

ONE OF THE MAIN MIGRATORY ROUTES FOR BIRD AND LAND ANIMAL SPECIES BETWEEN NORTH AND

SOUTH AMERICA. HAS DANIEL ORTEGA BECOME ANASTASIO SOMOZA GARCIA ; IN HIS UNQUENCHABLE

THIRST FOR POWER, HAS THE GREAT DICTATOR BEEN UNSEATED BY THE NOT SO GREAT DICTATOR ?

AS SOMOZA DIED OVERLOOKING THE INTEROCEANIC CANAL ZONE OF PANAMA IN 1956, WILL ORTEGA

ONE DAY DIE UNEXPECTEDLY, OVERLOOKING AN INTEROCEANIC CANAL ZONE OF UNDETERMINED COST

AND UNKNOWN DATE OF COMPLETION, A NIGHTMARE BROUGHT ON ONLY BY HIMSELF ? THE SPANISH

TERM " VENDEPATRIA ", OR " SELLER OF THE LAND ", WAS OFTEN USED BY OPPONENTS AGAINST THE

SOMOZA DYNASTY ; WOULD ITS ULTIMATE USAGE HOWEVER BE RESERVED FOR ORTEGA, THE NOT SO

GREAT DICTATOR WHO HAS SOLD NOT ONLY THE RICHES OF HIS NATIVE NICARAGUA, BUT THE

BIRTHRIGHT AND RESOURCES OF LATIN AMERICA ? WILL THIS 100 YEAR CONCESSION GRANTED TO

THE CHINESE ONLY LENGTHEN THE 500 YEARS OF SOLITUDE WHICH THE PEOPLES OF MESOAMERICA

HAVE BEEN FORCED TO ENDURE, COMPOUNDING THE INDENTURESHIP ? THE PROPOSAL OF A CANAL

THRU NICARAGUA WAS SAVED BY THE MOUNT PELEE EXPLOSION OF MAY 1902, AND THE MAILING

OF A 1 CENT STAMP FEATURING A NICARAGUAN VOLCANO TO U.S. SENATORS ; WILL THE VOLCANO

GODS OF NICARAGUA HEAR THE COLLECTIVE CRIES OF THE WORLD, AND ERUPT AT AN INVALUABLE

CROSSROADS IN TIME ? OR WILL THE GHOST OF RIGOBERTO LOPEZ PEREZ RISE FROM THE DEAD TO

ASSASSINATE PRESIDENT SOMOZA ONE LAST TIME, ONE FINAL TIME, USING THE ULTIMATE BULLET ?

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( a suivre . . . )