Tazers: The CBC's As It Happens, had a segment focusing on the judicial review of the RCMP's use of tazers and in particular their deployment of tazers and the resulting death of Robert Dziekanski.
Environment: Earth Hour was yesterday. Did you turn off and unplug?
Space: Shuttle Discovery landed safely yesterday after upgrading the International Space Station. NASA TV was incredibly boring. The peaceful and safe use of space in the spirit of international cooperation continues. Thank God that our forays into space display the very best our species has to offer.
War: Continued victories in Iraq. Perhaps even progress? Though the entire escapade is a huge distraction from real threats and future battlegrounds. Maybe I spoke prematurely regarding the peaceful use of space.
Iran launched a satellite into orbit. This got a bunch of people's undies in a twist because it means that they theoretically have the tech necessary to put a missile anywhere in the world. We are thinking this way despite repeated assurances from even neutral observers that Iran is decades away from a nuke, because we are in a society that can't separate space technology from military technology. Which is the answer to the question of why we have better maps of Mars than our own ocean.
Two satellites smacked into each other over Siberia raising global concerns regarding orbital trash and legal concerns regarding the use of space. Who is at fault, the car that is out of control with no driver, or the one that could possibly have driven out of the way?
A backward, green comet, discovered by a Chinese youth, will be visible from earth in the next few days before the Sun flings it out of our solar system forever.
John Kerry hosted a discussion last week where he had a round table of experts engage in hysterics regarding the recession and asked them to criticize his party's stimulus, the one he cosponsored. One of their doomsday warnings was that major wars, such as World War II, are preceded by long periods of economic recession. They predicted such an outcome if the current recession lasts, oh say more than two years.
This, in relation to certain things I have been hearing people say, leads me to be concerned. My specific concern is a sensitive one to discuss, however I feel that it is necessary to discuss in the interests of preparedness and prevention. The subject of race riots. If we recall, WWII and most regional conflicts in recent history were preceded by racial unrest or have a racial element to the conflict. Iraq, Darfour, Bosnia, Rwanda.
The things that I have been hearing that worry me are a linking of the effects of the recession on individuals to illegal immigration of Hispanics. I have heard people remark, "why should I be worried about the civil rights of illegal immigrants I can't even find a job myself." To be sure, I have only heard this sentiment coming from racist people who already bemoan bilingual signage. Still, the linking of the bad effects of the recession on individuals, by the individuals themselves, through the issue of illegal immigration, to a specific racial category of people, is what worries me. The immigration debate already inflames gun toting extremists to the point of mobilization. And the Minutemen were in existence when we were still relatively prosperous. I fear the recruitment power the recession will have for violent racist radicals.
This will be the kind of thing that plays out like prior race riots. On the streets in the poor parts of the country people will feel the pressure building every day. That sense of racial tension will never see the light of day in the MSM until the flood waters suddenly burst forth in a regional paroxysm of violence. Local riots will break out and only local outlets will cover them until they become either large, or last multiple days, or become shocking in some other way. Then the national MSM will start saying what had been obvious to 1/4 of the country for months. This will all be a complete shock to white middle class midwesterners who will wake up one morning as the MSM brings their attention to race riots already in progress.
Honestly, I hope it doesn't happen that way. Maybe it will just be local like the riots over the killing of Oscar Grant III. Or maybe the racial tension will never reach critical mass, or maybe the catalyst will never appear. I am just worried at the pace with which racist sentiment against Latinos has changed under the influence of the recession. For practical purposes, we should be concerned with good relations with Mexico because a good portion of their GDP is remittances from the US, and they recently discovered epic shit tons of oil. We should stay friendly with our neighbors.
The DOD recently decided to continue not awarding the Purple Heart to solders with post traumatic stress disorder. The blogosphere has been set aflame with the debate over the issue with one side arguing that this would make a substantial step toward acknowledgment, reducing stigma, and treatment of the disease within the military, and the other side trying hard to find new ways to say that PTSD doesn't exist while not overtly saying that.
This was followed the next day with the revelation that military suicides have reached a new record and have surpassed the rate of suicide in the general population. The close timing gave me pause to think about the significance of the two stories in relation to each other. I am not saying that awarding a medal for having PTSD would reduce suicide among military veterans. I just think that there needs to be a better way of serving those who have done their service to protect us. Having veterans among my family, friends, and co-workers, I have found that many of the combat vets are too proud too seek help even when they need it. You would think that psychologists could find a way to communicate directly with a soldier's experience and explain that getting treatment doesn't detract from their valor or self reliance. But I am not a soldier and I don't have any answers. I just don't like the toll that the psychological wounds of war are taking.
The Fringe Element has yet to comment about the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza, because there was seemingly little to be added to the current discussion. However, that silence must now come to an end, as we wonder the true purpose of the operations.
According to Israeli officials, the stated purpose is to make sure that Hamas can no longer fire rockets into the southern areas of Israel from the Gaza Strip. Yet, during the six month cease fire that expired just before the beginning of operations, Hamas did not fire a single rocket in violation of the ceasefire, though a handful of rockets were fired by smaller, shall we say fringe, militant groups. This is a matter of fact, and is readily admitted by Israeli officials.
So, disregarding the question of who initially broke the ceasefire, because of the rampant violations thereof, not the least of which being the Israeli embargo, we have to wonder why Israeli officials chose to attack the Gaza Strip in the way that they have done so far. Of course, electoral politics gives us a quick answer. The government of Israel has enjoyed carte blanche from the Bush Administration in everything they do, upto and including expanding settlements in the West Bank and continuing to build the separation wall, both of which are violations of international law. But the reins of the executive branch are about to turned over to a new leader, whose support for Israel has yet to be meaningfully tested. In combination with this factor, Israel itself will soon hold elections for Prime Minister. With the campaign in Gaza enjoying tremendous support amongst the general Israeli population, the various personalities in the running are trying to out-do each other to support the operation. In addition, the 20% Israeli Arab minority has been completely disenfranchised as their parties will not be able to participate in the coming election.
Yet, this still does not fully explain the rationale behind this operation. If one keeps asking questions, the answers keep leading to darker and darker answers. For instance, the Israeli military has been using some fairly advanced ammunition in the current operation, and the question must be raised whether the Israeli military, and more broadly the Israeli government, is using this as an opportunity to test the finest weapons that the world has to offer in battlefield conditions. For instance, the use of white phosphorus in artillery shells, although illegal to use against civilian targets is not necessarily against international law if used to create a passive smoke screen. But, it is definitely illegal if it is used against the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, which supplies essential foodstuffs to half of the enclave's population. A more insidious weapon is what is known as Dense Inert Metal Explosives, also referred to as DIME. This type of explosive, with a small blast radius, allows for specific targetting of hostile forces. However, it has also been found to be extremely carcinogenic. The apparent signs of a DIME-inflected injury, internal burns without shrapnel and entry wounds without exit wounds, have been appearing in civilian casualties.
Looking deeper into the situation, I have been left wondering if the Israeli operation is intent on forced displacement of the entire population of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have been dropping leaflets and warning civilians that they are going to be in the path of military operations. But, with the territory entirely surrounded and controlled by the Israeli government and for all intents and purposes cut off from the rest of the world, where are the refugees supposed to go? As is usually the case with military operations, civilian bystandards are often left with more questions than answers, and given the opacity of Israeli policy and motives behind the ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip, the rest of the world is left to wonder about true intentions.
The real question that should be asked in capitals around the world, the United Nations, and the Hague is whether or not to begin investigating whether the Israeli government is committing war crimes.
It may be beating a dead horse to talk about blood diamonds except people are still buying them, the artifical custom of the diamond engagement ring persists, and the average person does not feel blinded by rage when they see a commercial for diamonds. Also, you may be wondering what sparked this posting. I didn't just see the movie Blood Diamond and have my eyes opened to this tragedy and rush out to tell the ten people who accidentally come to this blog every day. I have been pissed about this injustice since I was a little high school hoodlum but I recently stumbled on my notes from last summer regarding this topic and I stumbled on this article on Fark.
That article recounts an older story regarding how the value of diamonds was artificially inflated and bullshit symbolism was imbued into the diamond. It recounts how a common stone with little intrinsic value was kept from the market in order to artificially create a low supply while some clever advertisers associated the diamond with eternity and love and forced every man in western society from then on to spend two months salary on a worthless crystal of carbon for fear of sending the wrong message to the woman he loves. Fortunately, for their trouble, those advertisers will have to crouch in the desert of sodomites for all eternity. Unfortunately love isn't enough to overcome the demands of consumerism in our culture, or informed women who truly loved their future husbands would insist on not wearing murder on their hands. They would not be able to look at their enggement ring and see the love of their husband but would instead witness blood flowing from the stone on their ring, the blood of the children who died in the mines and the men and women who were murdered when a new militia came and took over the mine.
Remember those anti-drug adds just after 9-11 where the Bush administration and John Ashcroft were trying to capitalize on nationalism in the war on drugs? They implied a connection within the drugs trade wherein money American teenagers spent on pot went into the coffers of the terrorists who had attacked us. The same is true of the diamond trade. If you buy diamonds, you are putting money into Osama Bin Laden's pockets.
What about the Kimberly process you ask? What are you some lobbyist for the diamond industry? For the rest of you, the Kimberly process is the method the diamond industry created to pretend they were doing something about blood diamonds as a public relations scheme. The process is entirely voluntary, completely self-administered with no accountability, and there are large financial disincentives to poor african countries to conform rigorously to the process's own loose guidelines. Given the fact that emeralds and rubies come from conflict ridden regions in Colombia and Burma respectively, and the gem industry turns a blind eye to the suffering inflicted on people in those areas, it is unsuprising that their own method of self monitoring the origins of diamonds is far from robust. This is what it looks like when evil people try to do good but can't stop thinking of their own greed.
Australia handed over their mission to U.S. command today and began withdrawing their remaining troops. At least they aren't capitulating to terrorism like the Spanish.
Its more than just delicious with cranberries. Aparently Turkey is also a country in both Europe and the Middle East. Turkey invaded Iraq last Thursday to fight the ethnic Kurdish sepratists. The President has called on Turkey to limit the incursion while Turkish politicians use the Bush administrations selfsame rhetoric to support their own "war on terror." I find Turkey's reaction to Kosovo's declaration of independence interesting in comparison to that of Russia. Russia objected to Kosovo's independence because they are afraid international recognition of such states will only encourage other seperatist regions to break away from their mother countries. Which is supposed to be a reference to Chechnya. Turkey, on the other hand supported Kosovo's independence and recognized them as a country. I wonder what they think of Russia's stated reason of not wanting to encourage break away republics.
The Kurdish north has been the most stable part of Iraq since Bush declared "mission accomplished." Which is why neither the US or Iraq wanted to risk destabalizing the regioin by going in and trying to uproot the PKK. It was also the major reason not to pull US out of Iraq. Or at least I thought it was. The scinario painted by people like Sen. Mccain goes something like this. We leave, and with noone holding them back the Sunni and Shiite extremests begin a full scale civil war. The Kurdish north then takes all their trucks and goes home, declaring independence and the existence of a country called Kurdistan. Then the Kurds in Turkey try to take their land and join with the Kurds of the former Iraq and Turkey begins a massive military invasion of the region. This combined with the unfettered influence of Iran, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in Iraq throws the whole region into utter chaos.
At least, thats the nightmare situation as I understand it. Now that Turkey has invaded Iraq I find it less compelling to support John McCain as a presidential candidate, since my whole reason to back him has veen prevention of Turkey from crossing that line. Admitedly, that has never been one of the planks in his platform but it was my reason. Without the threat of total middle-eastern bedlam, McCain's pandering to the religious zealots and "conservatives" in his party is thown into stark relief. I still have boatloads of respect for the man who is a war hero, and a senator who has managed to keep his integrity while being pragmatic enough to work in politics for so long. He just is no longer appealing to me as a president. Unfortunately that only leaves Clinton who voted for the war, and Obama who I have heard nothing substantial about, or long shot also-rans who I like but are being ignored by the old media.
On the solstace this friday we are all encouraged to have an orgasam in order to help alter the energy of the Earth. The effort is to change the warmongering hostile psychic energies of the Earth to those of peace. Sexy, panting, too-tired-to-fight-and-all-I-want-is-a-sandwich, peace.
As part of Condoleeza Rice's new push for world peace, or just not being seen as a neo-conservative lapdog who didn't do anything but exercise and get lectured by her peers, Condi got all of the leaders from Africa's various troubled places together in Addis Ababa to get a lecture in American diplomacy. Or is American diplomacy more about lecturing? I can never keep that straight. But, anyways, in the course of a day, Condi told all the leaders that would shop up (Joseph Kabila, President of the DRC chose not to make an appearance) that they had better play nice and look good and keep the windows closed... There was no "or" or "else." Thanks for clearing all that up, Condi in your whirlwind one day of talks.
As if anyone was actually thought that Iran was building the bomb, in rides the American Intelligence community to put all such mistaken notions to bed. However, just like five years ago, the evidence doesn't matter and won't effect policy in any significant fashion. David Kay and the UN inspectors were systematically combing Iraq, looking for any hint that Saddam was reconstituting his chemical and biological weapons programs. So, after we invade Iraq, surprise, surprise, America wakes up to find that it was lied to and flattered into doing something repugnant. However, the guilt that we should all feel can't be washed away with a tear-filled shower. So, now five years later, and we still collectively resemble a drunk sorority girl who has self-esteem issues.
"Yes, honey, I'm doing this to protect you, because you're so important to me. Why don't you just drink a little bit more and shut the fuck up so we can move on to the main event? Oh, can you get the cab fare back to your house? I have some wicked credit card bills. And I won't pull out or wear a condom because I'm a misogynist Christian."
There is still a chance that we won't invade or otherwise attack Iran. Please call your elected representative and flex your democratic power. We need to stop this blood for oil cycle and the imperial presidency made possible by the Bush Doctrine.
Here we are again with a warmongering administration raising the specter of a threat from the middle east and it seems like noone can stop the inevitable war. A war for no reason, with no goals, and no prospect for any kind of success.
Oh but here is an article that contradicts the Bush administration's exaggerations. Lets hope the old media isnt as spineless this time around and actually sticks with this set of facts rather then the jingoism and fear we are so familar with.
After all they are to blame for everything that is wrong with the world today. What happened? After Vietnam, civil rights, and Roe v. Wade, they decided to just take a 30 year nap? Have they been drugging themselves into apathy with comfort, big screen TVs, SUVs , and Hagar slacks? What the fuck happened to the hippies? Did they all just get jobs, have kids, and become so mypoic theydidnt see the big picture? Did assassinating all the leaders on the left really do the trick?
I can understand that after such a vocal outpoaring of liberalism, the perverbial pendulum would swing back to the right. But its never swung back. The right had their return to conservatism thanks to the selfish people who fear progress and true individual freedom. They then grabbed hold of the conciousness of America and dragged us all further and further right, and they were the ones doing the kicking and screaming.
You might object and point out that Clinton was a Democrat. My responce is to laugh derisively. Clinton was, and the Democrats that emulate him are, much like Joseph Liberman, Republicans in Democrats clothing. They are still elitiests that pander to business and pay lip service to social issues like poverty and healthcare. Besides Clinton was a leader. He was a brillient public speaker and was charismatic. When he went away we were left with a bunch of unelectable Bob Doles in the Democratic side.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I dont hate the Democrats because they failed, I hate them because they failed against such an inept enemy. I hate them because they dont represent an actual alternative.
For those of you who may be worried about the state of research into military hardware in the world can rest easy. Even though the world's largest and most expensive military is essentially sleeping at the wheel, one man has seen the future and wishes to bring the fifth generation of warfighting technology to humanity. No one but Vladimir Putin would have the foresight to build a "grandiose" nuclear defense complex and new Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Not to mention, bringing other countries, such as India, on board to help development of combat fighters that are even better than the Sukhoi SU-34. Glory to the Motherland.
In honor of Mahatma Gandhi, today is the first International Day of Peace and Non Violence. Considering how violence saturates our normal, everyday lives, I'm not sure how this holiday should be observed. However, if you see an opportunity today for non-violent non-cooperation with authorities today, you should do it, and again tomorrow and every other day after.
