THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

     "It's the beginning of the end"- went through my mind, as I saw someone, walking on the street.
     I sat on a bench, waiting for Taka to bring the car. We just finished our Tai Chi lesson, and I was pleasantly relaxed, but a bit tired from it.
     Berkeley is one of my favorite towns. Everywhere I looked, it seemed, its young and old residents carried with them the air of free thinking and innovation.
     A black cape swirled among the pedestrians. No, surely, it couldn't be a cape! I peered at the figure, advancing down the street. The sun reflected off of its black armor and helmet, but the cape swallowed the light. 
     Was that the Star Wars' theme I was hearing in the din of the traffic? Yes! Now, with the music confirming my vision, I couldn't deny it any longer: Darth Vader was moving toward me!
     In front of him walked another man with the video camera. As he passed, the film villain's dark figure approached and... handed me a leaflet.
     "Darth Vader is here" - I managed to squeeze weekly - "and me without my light saber!"
                                                                                                                                                                                                       

     "The Hempire strikes back" - the leaflet said. OK, that was clever and, kind of, funny to a science fiction and the Star Wars's junkie, like me. But what is it about?
     I changed my stance toward the marijuana and hemp issue. Now I believe, they can be beneficial to humanity in many different ways. As I read the small piece of paper, though, different bells and whistles went off in my mind.
     As a kid growing up in the Soviet Union, I learned a lot about the "class struggle" and various strategies, employed by the communist party's cadre to undermine a society and cause a shift in people's attitude, leading to a change in political regimes. My own son scoffs, when I tell him that, some, seemingly, "cool" movements, like "Occupy",  display the above mentioned strategies. "The Hempire Strikes Back" is a campaign of another such organization, called the Radish Rebels. 
     I am not 100% sure, of course, if the Radish Rebels are the agents of the communist movement. Perhaps, they are just some more liberal proponents of change, that we all crave. On the other hand, my instinct tells me, they are not as innocent, as they seem. After all:

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