Do I mean what if some crazy, disgruntled politician pushes the red button? No, I actually mean to consider the possibility that we're already experiencing WWIII. Dispel the notion of storming beaches, confetti filled homecomings, the one evil enemy and turn your attention instead to the minimizing of our world and the maximizing of our every day decisions on it.
Consider our economy, which hopefully you already have. The blunders from our economic downturn are not just sore points here, but all over the world. Despite a crumbling infrastructure and an arrogant police aura, we still hold sway over much in the world. Also consider our military presence all over the world. According to the Defense Department's annual "Base Structure Report" from 2003, which itemizes foreign and domestic U.S. military real estate, the Pentagon currently owns or rents 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and HAS another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories. Oh, but that's not even the half of it. The report omits any bases in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, and Uzbekistan. Yeah, we don't have any bases in Iraq and Afghanistan...this aptly named arc of instability is peppered with our camo and hum-v's. Andy Hoehn, deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy, came up with this arc of instability as a response to Bush's war on terror. The arc runs from the Andean region of South America through North Africa and then sweeps across the Middle East to the Philippines and Indonesia. Ironically enough, that's also where the largest oil reserves in the world run...what a coincidence! Starting to get a little twist in your stomach that feels like bad corporations and old hummus? Well, how bout this: the Pentagon also fails to include any bases that are sublet to corporate entities, such as in Kosovo, the site of Camp Bondsteel, built in 1999 and maintained ever since by Kellogg, Brown & Root, "a global engineering, construction and services company." They also don't mention the Japanese bases, or the British ones that have been disguised as RAF bases. Hmmm, why not include all of these? If I know about 'em, I'm sure the Pentagon does. Although, they can't even tell whether or not a real plane hit the building on 9/11 so maybe their intel is a little shaky.
And speaking of shaky intel, here's another nod to a global meltdown. General Patraeus's first act as reigning general over the mid-eastern cluster fuck is to employ 10,000 "soldiers" as part of an Afghani militia to fight Al-Qaeda and those opposed to the US/NATO occupation. Good idea - let's fight some more.
Apparently Hamid Karzai, the well dressed puppet, wasn't too happy about us bullying him into submission...but what is he gonna do about it? Karzai's spokesman commented on our flexing of muscles, saying "We don't want a short-term objective to endanger a long-term objective for security."
But c'mon man, we excel at short-term solutions! We don't think further than however long it takes Bush to complete a coherent sentence. Where's the fun in sitting down and organizing a proper plan - that's so boring! That's like what they did in the other world wars...so pasé.
So, as we drill, shoot, bomb, dig, spend, occupy and lie, this world is reeling accordingly. Every day we spend occupying foreign countries, we make another enemy. It may take another 6 billion or so days to have the whole world against us, but we're moving along pretty good. This war is fought on all levels: economic, psychological, and physical. We bash and batter any chance we get. From torture chambers in Abu Ghraib and GT, to the oil fields in the middle east, to the bases around the world, to wall street, we are perpetually engaged in warfare. The only problem is that unlike other world wars, the people don't seem to notice. We continue on with our reality shows and our day-to-day as if the only worry was who's gonna win American Idol. Wake the fuck up, my fellow Americans. We are at war. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm trying to get you to scare yourself, scare yourself into educating yourself.
As the British military historian, Corelli Barnett said, "Rather than kicking down front doors and barging into ancient and complex societies with simple nostrums of 'freedom and democracy,' we need tactics of cunning and subtlety, based on a profound understanding of the people and cultures we are dealing with -- an understanding up till now entirely lacking in the top-level policy-makers in Washington, especially in the Pentagon."
Our officials are lacking, and that's our fault. The buck stops with us, because we are the people they're talking about in a governement for the people, by the people and of the people.
Do something.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The commission on why shit happens
Forgive my cynicism when it comes to government formed commissions but in the past, I've been less than impressed with what these supposed detectives have come up with. The 9/11 commission may as well have been a commission on why we hate terrorists.
So, now there's The National Oil Commission whose job is to 1) determine why the oil rig exploded, 2) make preventative recommendations for similar disasters, and 3) decide whether or not offshore oil and gas drilling should be allowed to continue.
Drumroll please...the shit show: Republicans including but not limited to senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Robert Bennett of Utah, are bitching and complaining that there are too few oil and gas experts and too many environmentalists on the commission who will make leftist, opinionated suggestions on the second two points while ignoring the cause. Democrats complain that the co-chairman, William Reilly (former head of the EPA under Bush I might add), a Republican, has ties to big oil having sat on the board of Conoco-Phillips. Meanwhile, Obama tries to calm the left and right winds of this shit storm by assuring both sides that the commission is made up of "well-qualified and unbiased scientists and experts."
The commission will have six months before delivering the report whereafter Obama and friends will decide what plan of action to take against BP and the big oil elephant in the room.
Some say that they have higher hopes for this commission, mostly because the disaster in question is still on-going and is certainly fresh in the minds of the Gulf Coast residents if not the entire nation. Others are skeptical and say that the commission will run up against the same problems as the 9/11 commission and in the end will be a mere figurehead for solutions as opposed to tangible change.
I'd have to go with the skeptics on this one. Unless Reilly uses his big oil clout to get some answers (which again, I skeptically doubt), this commission will accomplish about as much as the average hippie cleaning oil off of a seagul and asking himself why. BP is a corporation. Corporations run the government. This disaster is still ongoing. What answers does the commission hope to get from a corporation deep in public opinion shit, losing money everyday? They're gonna try to hide as much as possible! I can almost hear the familiar sound of paper shredders over the hum of gushing oil. BP recently bought up all the google search options for oil spill in an interest to save face. They have also refused to publish any non-corporate sponsored testing of the waterways affected by the spill.
So, again, unless Reilly intends on taking on BP and their corporate bag of tricks, I don't see this commission coming up with much. Even if the so-called hippies on the commission decide that the best way to prevent future oil spills is to not allow off shore drilling (holy shit, what a concept), the chances of that recommendation springing to action are about as slim as Sarah Palin showing up in Playboy sporting a pentagram tattoo.
Good luck commission, you're gonna need it.
So, now there's The National Oil Commission whose job is to 1) determine why the oil rig exploded, 2) make preventative recommendations for similar disasters, and 3) decide whether or not offshore oil and gas drilling should be allowed to continue.
Drumroll please...the shit show: Republicans including but not limited to senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Robert Bennett of Utah, are bitching and complaining that there are too few oil and gas experts and too many environmentalists on the commission who will make leftist, opinionated suggestions on the second two points while ignoring the cause. Democrats complain that the co-chairman, William Reilly (former head of the EPA under Bush I might add), a Republican, has ties to big oil having sat on the board of Conoco-Phillips. Meanwhile, Obama tries to calm the left and right winds of this shit storm by assuring both sides that the commission is made up of "well-qualified and unbiased scientists and experts."
The commission will have six months before delivering the report whereafter Obama and friends will decide what plan of action to take against BP and the big oil elephant in the room.
Some say that they have higher hopes for this commission, mostly because the disaster in question is still on-going and is certainly fresh in the minds of the Gulf Coast residents if not the entire nation. Others are skeptical and say that the commission will run up against the same problems as the 9/11 commission and in the end will be a mere figurehead for solutions as opposed to tangible change.
I'd have to go with the skeptics on this one. Unless Reilly uses his big oil clout to get some answers (which again, I skeptically doubt), this commission will accomplish about as much as the average hippie cleaning oil off of a seagul and asking himself why. BP is a corporation. Corporations run the government. This disaster is still ongoing. What answers does the commission hope to get from a corporation deep in public opinion shit, losing money everyday? They're gonna try to hide as much as possible! I can almost hear the familiar sound of paper shredders over the hum of gushing oil. BP recently bought up all the google search options for oil spill in an interest to save face. They have also refused to publish any non-corporate sponsored testing of the waterways affected by the spill.
So, again, unless Reilly intends on taking on BP and their corporate bag of tricks, I don't see this commission coming up with much. Even if the so-called hippies on the commission decide that the best way to prevent future oil spills is to not allow off shore drilling (holy shit, what a concept), the chances of that recommendation springing to action are about as slim as Sarah Palin showing up in Playboy sporting a pentagram tattoo.
Good luck commission, you're gonna need it.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Apathy and Extremism
On my flight from one side of the world to the next (Sweden to Los Angeles), I had time to do some reading. Along with various newspapers, I read Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer. If you haven’t read any of his work, I can highly suggest it as a sterling representation of mass minded thinking and action in today’s world. The daily news complimented this read rather well, or badly, depending on how you look at it. For those of us who read the news, it’s no surprise to know that the world is in a state of disarray: wars, famine, poverty, broken diplomacy sprinkled with the push and pull of extremism vs. apathy.
In truth, there is no such thing as apathy. It is something I like to refer to as “no, no, leave me alone.” It’s what you get when you go down south and realize that some people still think blacks should walk on the street when a white man comes down the sidewalk. It is a resistance to change that can be as strong and intolerable as extremism, so in effect, it is. It can also be a complete disregard for what is going on in the world, either because you have a weak heart and don’t think your HMO will cover more anxiety pills or it is due to again, the unwillingness to see things change b/c so far, they’re looking pretty good for you. The disregard is not apathy, because apathy implies that the person knows what’s going on and doesn’t care. If people knew what was going on, they would care. To quote a bumper sticker (yes, I’m that classy), “If you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention.” In the US, with our large variation of cultures and people, we have the push and pull of both sides. I can recall being 16, too young to vote, sitting by a table trying to sign people up to vote. I got more “Nah, I don’t vote” answers than any other. Ummm....what?! That’s like telling a doctor you don’t need to know what’s wrong b/c you’re sure he’ll figure it out. However, then you somehow reserve the right to complain about it later. No, doesn’t work that way. If you get cancer and refuse to acknowledge it till the 11th hour, tough shit.
And then, on the extremist front, they seemingly care so much that they overshoot the goal and blow up the village to save the people. Take the Tea Party, for example, since they don’t get enough press. They care so much about the welfare of their beloved US of A, they’ll threaten the lives of constitutionally protected officials b/c they democratically disagree with them...right.
I’ve begun doing some research for an essay of sorts on the mindset of extremists, hence my interest in Eric Hoffer. I’m looking at the reasons why people become extremist, who they are and how we can avoid feeding more people to the brainwashing of extremist ideologies. Hoffer says that people become extremist either to produce a serious change in their surroundings or because one has already occurred and they are responding to it.
Interestingly enough, these two push and pull opposites share a common red thread: the belief that they alone possess very little power to suggest change. When one feels powerless, they usually do one of two things: find someone who has power to lead or shrink up in their shell and ignore whatever it is they feel powerless against. So, since we can’t beat cancer, we choose to ignore it, or we jump off a bridge in the hopes of killing the damn bastard. Either way, kind of a shitty deal. So, in short, we the people, have to accept, have to come to the realization that within us is an incredible amount of power, to faclitate change and to move our country closer to what it needs to be, thereby affecting all the countries we hold sway over (unfortunately, a lot). For the people, of the people, by the people. If the people don’t step up, then we’re a country of sheep, for sheep and by sheep...baaaahhhhd.
In truth, there is no such thing as apathy. It is something I like to refer to as “no, no, leave me alone.” It’s what you get when you go down south and realize that some people still think blacks should walk on the street when a white man comes down the sidewalk. It is a resistance to change that can be as strong and intolerable as extremism, so in effect, it is. It can also be a complete disregard for what is going on in the world, either because you have a weak heart and don’t think your HMO will cover more anxiety pills or it is due to again, the unwillingness to see things change b/c so far, they’re looking pretty good for you. The disregard is not apathy, because apathy implies that the person knows what’s going on and doesn’t care. If people knew what was going on, they would care. To quote a bumper sticker (yes, I’m that classy), “If you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention.” In the US, with our large variation of cultures and people, we have the push and pull of both sides. I can recall being 16, too young to vote, sitting by a table trying to sign people up to vote. I got more “Nah, I don’t vote” answers than any other. Ummm....what?! That’s like telling a doctor you don’t need to know what’s wrong b/c you’re sure he’ll figure it out. However, then you somehow reserve the right to complain about it later. No, doesn’t work that way. If you get cancer and refuse to acknowledge it till the 11th hour, tough shit.
And then, on the extremist front, they seemingly care so much that they overshoot the goal and blow up the village to save the people. Take the Tea Party, for example, since they don’t get enough press. They care so much about the welfare of their beloved US of A, they’ll threaten the lives of constitutionally protected officials b/c they democratically disagree with them...right.
I’ve begun doing some research for an essay of sorts on the mindset of extremists, hence my interest in Eric Hoffer. I’m looking at the reasons why people become extremist, who they are and how we can avoid feeding more people to the brainwashing of extremist ideologies. Hoffer says that people become extremist either to produce a serious change in their surroundings or because one has already occurred and they are responding to it.
Interestingly enough, these two push and pull opposites share a common red thread: the belief that they alone possess very little power to suggest change. When one feels powerless, they usually do one of two things: find someone who has power to lead or shrink up in their shell and ignore whatever it is they feel powerless against. So, since we can’t beat cancer, we choose to ignore it, or we jump off a bridge in the hopes of killing the damn bastard. Either way, kind of a shitty deal. So, in short, we the people, have to accept, have to come to the realization that within us is an incredible amount of power, to faclitate change and to move our country closer to what it needs to be, thereby affecting all the countries we hold sway over (unfortunately, a lot). For the people, of the people, by the people. If the people don’t step up, then we’re a country of sheep, for sheep and by sheep...baaaahhhhd.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy Birthday to the out of control teen
In the grand scheme of things, the US of A is a teenager compared to other older countries in the world. The fact that our democracy (actually a republic) has been so long-lived does not mean that we are that city upon a hill, a shining beacon for the lost masses of society to work towards. In fact, all things considered, we're an arrogant, unwieldy, corrupt little shit, with all due respect. We're the national equivalent of a wild teen snorting blow, starting fights, hitting on other people's girlfriends and skipping school b/c he already knows everything.
So, where's the Dr. Phil equivalent for our problem? Interestingly enough, the very people that should care, don't. We're supposed to be the parents, the ones looking after this country of ours, making sure we mind our manners while standing up for the rights of our citizens. A tricky line to walk, surely, but unlike Mr. Cash, we're not walking any kind of line. Most Americans couldn't give two shits whether the out of control teen steals their savings to buy more blow and pick more fights. It just seems to be par for the course.
In a recent study done by Stephen D. Morris and Joseph L. Klesner found that corruption in the government (the study was specifically done on Mexico's democratic government) leads to more corruption and a further disinterest in the citizens. Ummmm...huh? Yep, unfortunately it's true. And you shouldn't really need a study to tell you. Just look around. It's kind of like Pavlov's dog. We become conditioned to expect corruption so when we get it, instead of heading out to protest, we sit back, shake our heads and cynically say, "I told you so." When politicians make vast promises of change and hope, deep down, we don't expect anything to change. So when it doesn't, we piss and moan at our local bars over a beer, but do nothing to push for that said hope and change. It's kind of like we let that out-of-control teen attitude get to us. As if to say, screw it, if they're fucked three ways to sunday, why should I bother standing up for what's right?
While I can see the point in that argument, it's still crap. Whether we like it or not, our little teenager is a democracy and because of this twist, it's our job to change him. I guarantee it's not easy and I guarantee there will be a hell of a lot of obstacles, but it's our teenager and for the sake of the entire world which we have unfortunately also dragged into our day time soap opera, we have got to get a better handle on our own country.
So, enjoy your hot dogs, your beers, your fireworks, but don't forget the ideas you're celebrating, and the hard work it takes to raise a child, particularly this one.
Happy 4th
So, where's the Dr. Phil equivalent for our problem? Interestingly enough, the very people that should care, don't. We're supposed to be the parents, the ones looking after this country of ours, making sure we mind our manners while standing up for the rights of our citizens. A tricky line to walk, surely, but unlike Mr. Cash, we're not walking any kind of line. Most Americans couldn't give two shits whether the out of control teen steals their savings to buy more blow and pick more fights. It just seems to be par for the course.
In a recent study done by Stephen D. Morris and Joseph L. Klesner found that corruption in the government (the study was specifically done on Mexico's democratic government) leads to more corruption and a further disinterest in the citizens. Ummmm...huh? Yep, unfortunately it's true. And you shouldn't really need a study to tell you. Just look around. It's kind of like Pavlov's dog. We become conditioned to expect corruption so when we get it, instead of heading out to protest, we sit back, shake our heads and cynically say, "I told you so." When politicians make vast promises of change and hope, deep down, we don't expect anything to change. So when it doesn't, we piss and moan at our local bars over a beer, but do nothing to push for that said hope and change. It's kind of like we let that out-of-control teen attitude get to us. As if to say, screw it, if they're fucked three ways to sunday, why should I bother standing up for what's right?
While I can see the point in that argument, it's still crap. Whether we like it or not, our little teenager is a democracy and because of this twist, it's our job to change him. I guarantee it's not easy and I guarantee there will be a hell of a lot of obstacles, but it's our teenager and for the sake of the entire world which we have unfortunately also dragged into our day time soap opera, we have got to get a better handle on our own country.
So, enjoy your hot dogs, your beers, your fireworks, but don't forget the ideas you're celebrating, and the hard work it takes to raise a child, particularly this one.
Happy 4th
Friday, July 2, 2010
Black gold
The greatest environmental catastrophe in US history continues to unfold while our cars keep guzzling and we, seemingly immune to the irony, continue watching in our oil fueled plastic worlds as the earth goes down the shitter. Ah, isn't it just great to be American?
Well, I'm sure Nigerians would agree.
The Niger Delta is one of the most oil polluted places on the planet (barring of course our tremendous un-ability to plug the gusher in the gulf with more hair). Somewhere in the range of 11 million barrels of oil have spilled into the Delta over the course of 50 years, since the oil companies first noticed the glittering potential in this coastal country. The US currently gets about 10% of it's oil from Nigeria, and many activist groups fear that with the current situation in the Gulf, that figure will rise, leading to more problems in the already plagued region. A Nigerian spokesman for Shell oil complained that many militant groups in the area have been busting open pipelines to steal oil, and keeping crews from trying to rectify those break ins and other spills that have occurred, leading to the five decade old catastrophe. So there you go guys, not their fault. And this rager in the gulf isn't BP's fault either. Some dolphin or something probably bumped into the line and sent the whole thing into may-day mode.
I can't really decide which is more disgusting: the fact that Nigeria has lived with an ongoing spill many times the size of ours and yet we couldn't give two shits about them as long as they give us oil, OR that we continue to guzzle as the gulf gushes, immune to the catastrophes in both places...
Well, I'm sure Nigerians would agree.
The Niger Delta is one of the most oil polluted places on the planet (barring of course our tremendous un-ability to plug the gusher in the gulf with more hair). Somewhere in the range of 11 million barrels of oil have spilled into the Delta over the course of 50 years, since the oil companies first noticed the glittering potential in this coastal country. The US currently gets about 10% of it's oil from Nigeria, and many activist groups fear that with the current situation in the Gulf, that figure will rise, leading to more problems in the already plagued region. A Nigerian spokesman for Shell oil complained that many militant groups in the area have been busting open pipelines to steal oil, and keeping crews from trying to rectify those break ins and other spills that have occurred, leading to the five decade old catastrophe. So there you go guys, not their fault. And this rager in the gulf isn't BP's fault either. Some dolphin or something probably bumped into the line and sent the whole thing into may-day mode.
I can't really decide which is more disgusting: the fact that Nigeria has lived with an ongoing spill many times the size of ours and yet we couldn't give two shits about them as long as they give us oil, OR that we continue to guzzle as the gulf gushes, immune to the catastrophes in both places...
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Welcome to hell General Patraeus
This week's forecast for Afghanistan: hell.
June 2010 has shown to be the deadliest so far for NATO forces, the death toll being 101 on Wednesday, outweighing the previous most deadly month by 22 soldiers, in August 2009. And now General Patraeus is taking over for the big mouthed McChrystal who made a complete cluster fuck of himself in Rolling Stone.
Calling McChrystal back to Washington was somewhat of a crap shoot (but then again, so is this war), considering that pulling a General out of a rising death toll war zone isn't usually on the list of recommendations, even from the disjointed lot that organize our troops in the Middle East. Still, Obama forged ahead and replaced McChrystal with Patraeus who officials say have a much better report with the media. Oh good. I'm so glad that that's our criteria for generals. Next war, we should ask that they have a talent like tap dancing or glass playing. I'm not saying that either general deserves a gold star for their efforts in the Middle East but I am saying that if you're gonna go full steam ahead into a war, step up the troops while simultaneously claiming a Nobel peace prize and promising you'll pull troops out, you can't care too much about how the media spins stories.
Insubordination is unacceptable and this Rolling Stone article only profiles the serious holes in the chains of command leading from the top to the poor kids that get blown up every month on the ground. If his own general can't say a thing or two to back up the president, it's not surprising that we're cha-cha-ing back and forth on troop numbers, movements and locations.
We're there, over over there so now we have to do something. Both General Patraeus and McChrystal have more experience in the air conditioned halls of the Pentagon than in the real world. Neither one of them are buddy buddy with Obama. Mr. President, if you wanna go in there, you better make damn sure that you've got your ducks in a row. At the moment, you've got a crazed group of Canada Geese running around and nipping like headless chickens on LSD. Don't let these kids keep dying while you keep trying to figure out a plan.
June 2010 has shown to be the deadliest so far for NATO forces, the death toll being 101 on Wednesday, outweighing the previous most deadly month by 22 soldiers, in August 2009. And now General Patraeus is taking over for the big mouthed McChrystal who made a complete cluster fuck of himself in Rolling Stone.
Calling McChrystal back to Washington was somewhat of a crap shoot (but then again, so is this war), considering that pulling a General out of a rising death toll war zone isn't usually on the list of recommendations, even from the disjointed lot that organize our troops in the Middle East. Still, Obama forged ahead and replaced McChrystal with Patraeus who officials say have a much better report with the media. Oh good. I'm so glad that that's our criteria for generals. Next war, we should ask that they have a talent like tap dancing or glass playing. I'm not saying that either general deserves a gold star for their efforts in the Middle East but I am saying that if you're gonna go full steam ahead into a war, step up the troops while simultaneously claiming a Nobel peace prize and promising you'll pull troops out, you can't care too much about how the media spins stories.
Insubordination is unacceptable and this Rolling Stone article only profiles the serious holes in the chains of command leading from the top to the poor kids that get blown up every month on the ground. If his own general can't say a thing or two to back up the president, it's not surprising that we're cha-cha-ing back and forth on troop numbers, movements and locations.
We're there, over over there so now we have to do something. Both General Patraeus and McChrystal have more experience in the air conditioned halls of the Pentagon than in the real world. Neither one of them are buddy buddy with Obama. Mr. President, if you wanna go in there, you better make damn sure that you've got your ducks in a row. At the moment, you've got a crazed group of Canada Geese running around and nipping like headless chickens on LSD. Don't let these kids keep dying while you keep trying to figure out a plan.
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