Monday, July 14, 2008
The Economic First Strike
I had a chance to speak with Dr. Rick Roberts, Diplomat in Residence at the University of Oklahoma and expert on Middle Eastern affairs. He has spent many years in the State Department, stationed throughout the Middle East, so I assume he is fairly knowledgeable about the current situation. He touted the standard policy of the Bush administration, that of diplomacy and aversion to conflict with Iran. However, he did confirm my belief that we have no idea what actions the Israelis will take, if any. At this point, I am unsure whether or not this conflict will go hot, but I will make one speculative prediction. If it does, the true consequences will be economically disastrous. I only hope that Israel has the forward thinking and the rational to sit back and munch on popcorn instead. War Profiteers, Drunken Oilmen, and Hawkish Israelis are destroying the American economy and the best Pelosi can do is suggest we eek a bit of oil out from the Strategic Reserve. No grand plans for energy independence, no prosecution of the GWB Administration, not even a whisper about the Pickens plan. No wonder Congress has record low approval ratings.
Monday, June 30, 2008
A War With Iran
Despite most American's distaste of the occupation of Iraq, another war in the Middle East is brewing. While an invasion of Iran is unlikely in the near future, sabre rattling continues, and looks to escalate in the near term. House Resolution 362 essentially calls for a blockade of Iran, and Nancy Pelosi herself has stated that a blockade is "a good possibility".
This blockade would be equivalent to a declaration of war. And if you think oil prices are bad now, wait until the Straight of Hormuz falls under siege of the US military. Forget about supply, demand, and speculation fueling rising prices. These will be the good ol' days. Israel is betting on US support for air strikes against key targets in Iran because it's Air Force does not have the long-range bombing capabilities that the US Air Force does. It's a good thing, otherwise a strike against Iran may have already happened. Will the US support air strikes against targets supposedly enriching Uranium? It seems as if the Bush administration is torn on the issue, and will likely remain so till the end of it's term. While Cheney fully supports a strike, Secretary of Defense Gates believes it is quite foolhardy. And he is right. Any sane person would recognize that Iran is no threat to the United States. The question is, are they a threat to Israel and why Israel believes it's time is so short?
Should Obama be elected President, Israel will strike Iran.
Given that Obama becomes our President, the Israelis believe that he will not sanction air strike against Iran. Therefore, they will strike before Bush leaves office. This will have grave consequences. Should this happen, and the United States found in support of such actions, we will breed a generation of jihadists like never seen before. The religious and prophetic wars that pervade the minds of our simple minded Congressional critters will become reality. Watch the dollar become worthless. $4 a gallon gas will be a pleasant memory. Iraq will seem like a cakewalk. The only thing we can hope is that sky-high oil prices will spur further investment and development of alternative energy sources. What a shitty consolation prize.
Anyways, as usual Ron Paul says it better. Take a watch.
This blockade would be equivalent to a declaration of war. And if you think oil prices are bad now, wait until the Straight of Hormuz falls under siege of the US military. Forget about supply, demand, and speculation fueling rising prices. These will be the good ol' days. Israel is betting on US support for air strikes against key targets in Iran because it's Air Force does not have the long-range bombing capabilities that the US Air Force does. It's a good thing, otherwise a strike against Iran may have already happened. Will the US support air strikes against targets supposedly enriching Uranium? It seems as if the Bush administration is torn on the issue, and will likely remain so till the end of it's term. While Cheney fully supports a strike, Secretary of Defense Gates believes it is quite foolhardy. And he is right. Any sane person would recognize that Iran is no threat to the United States. The question is, are they a threat to Israel and why Israel believes it's time is so short?
Should Obama be elected President, Israel will strike Iran.
Given that Obama becomes our President, the Israelis believe that he will not sanction air strike against Iran. Therefore, they will strike before Bush leaves office. This will have grave consequences. Should this happen, and the United States found in support of such actions, we will breed a generation of jihadists like never seen before. The religious and prophetic wars that pervade the minds of our simple minded Congressional critters will become reality. Watch the dollar become worthless. $4 a gallon gas will be a pleasant memory. Iraq will seem like a cakewalk. The only thing we can hope is that sky-high oil prices will spur further investment and development of alternative energy sources. What a shitty consolation prize.
Anyways, as usual Ron Paul says it better. Take a watch.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Dissidents
dis·si·dent: disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief
dis·so·nance: lack of agreement; inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's actions and one's beliefs
Who are the dissidents of dissonance?
That might be the first question that comes to mind, but first let me illustrate what brought us to this point in time, why we must form a resistance, and what the hell we are fighting in the first place.
The Elite Few
American culture and thought has long been dominated by the mainstream media. From popular music to mainstream news sources, one must take a long look back to a time when these arenas were not dominated by the few, the elite. GE, Westinghouse, and Viacom are just a few of the corporate conglomerates that own the vast majority of media in the United States and throughout the world. These corporate owned news sources such as the New York Times and CBS, for example, consistently and purposefully seek to seed dissonance. Their insatiable thirst for revenue from advertisers forces them to seek the best selling news. "Photogenic white girl missing!? FRONT PAGE! Bush administration seeking war with middle eastern country? My god, that means years of utterly delicious stories..." These news organizations do not dare become too critical of government officials, or they could easily lose access to their inside sources, and consequently lose the advertisers with it.
But is advertisement money enough for the media to support war, turn a blind eye to important government affairs, and balk at the notion that our liberties are slowly being eroded? To see the reasons why you need not look farther than the network's parent corporations. GE, parent corporation of NBC Universal, happens to be one of the biggest players in the military industrial complex. War is the money maker. Optimistic war coverage is the advertisement. It's all too simple, and yet far too complex to fight. The individuals whom profit most simply hide behind the walls of corporate law. This turns out to have become a nearly impenetrable shield against justice and law.
The American Mindshare
Mindshare is a term often used to show how influential an information source is. Sources such as youtube are highly influential, but uncontrolled. This represents the new media, a medium of information that is quickly killing the old media, newspaper and television. However, how long will the internet remain open and free is debatable, and the multimedia giants hand in hand with telecommunications companies are looking to lock you back in to the old media. While it may not even be possible, given the nature of the internet and Google's fight for an open web, there are certain advantages to the American mindshare being served from a single digital dish. It is become much easier for the benevolent corporations to watch the ebb and flow of thought, monitor the activities of users, and hand this information over to the government so that she may properly take care of her citizens. Sound good?
It may not be. The reason is that as Americans our dissonance has reached a point where our actions no longer represent the beliefs we hold dear. Ask your friends if they believe in liberty, justice, and freedom for all mankind. On the same note, ask what they have done to fight immunity for telecommunications companies for taking part in unconstitutional and illegal wiretapping or perhaps what they think about the latest draconian IP treaty. Most Americans still believe in the ideas that give a people the freedom of speech and thought, the ideas that provided the United States with such economic success, the ideas that our Founding Fathers fought and died for. However, most people are overwhelmed or do not care about enforcing those beliefs with action. Most do not take part in the political process, nor even remain informed about the issues of the day.
Blame the media, blame the government, or you can even blame Abraham Lincoln. It hardly matters, because we are to blame. The American people have let the government and corporations take action for too long. These actions do not represent the beliefs and ideals of the American people, they reflect the perverted ideals of the elite few that control the American mindshare. The ideals of the elite few who only take action to serve their own interests. We will break free from their stranglehold, but it will take more than just words and internet posts. It will take action. And that is why we are here.
We are the dissidents of dissonance.
We are here to take action.
dis·so·nance: lack of agreement; inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's actions and one's beliefs
Who are the dissidents of dissonance?
That might be the first question that comes to mind, but first let me illustrate what brought us to this point in time, why we must form a resistance, and what the hell we are fighting in the first place.
The Elite Few
American culture and thought has long been dominated by the mainstream media. From popular music to mainstream news sources, one must take a long look back to a time when these arenas were not dominated by the few, the elite. GE, Westinghouse, and Viacom are just a few of the corporate conglomerates that own the vast majority of media in the United States and throughout the world. These corporate owned news sources such as the New York Times and CBS, for example, consistently and purposefully seek to seed dissonance. Their insatiable thirst for revenue from advertisers forces them to seek the best selling news. "Photogenic white girl missing!? FRONT PAGE! Bush administration seeking war with middle eastern country? My god, that means years of utterly delicious stories..." These news organizations do not dare become too critical of government officials, or they could easily lose access to their inside sources, and consequently lose the advertisers with it.
But is advertisement money enough for the media to support war, turn a blind eye to important government affairs, and balk at the notion that our liberties are slowly being eroded? To see the reasons why you need not look farther than the network's parent corporations. GE, parent corporation of NBC Universal, happens to be one of the biggest players in the military industrial complex. War is the money maker. Optimistic war coverage is the advertisement. It's all too simple, and yet far too complex to fight. The individuals whom profit most simply hide behind the walls of corporate law. This turns out to have become a nearly impenetrable shield against justice and law.
The American Mindshare
Mindshare is a term often used to show how influential an information source is. Sources such as youtube are highly influential, but uncontrolled. This represents the new media, a medium of information that is quickly killing the old media, newspaper and television. However, how long will the internet remain open and free is debatable, and the multimedia giants hand in hand with telecommunications companies are looking to lock you back in to the old media. While it may not even be possible, given the nature of the internet and Google's fight for an open web, there are certain advantages to the American mindshare being served from a single digital dish. It is become much easier for the benevolent corporations to watch the ebb and flow of thought, monitor the activities of users, and hand this information over to the government so that she may properly take care of her citizens. Sound good?
It may not be. The reason is that as Americans our dissonance has reached a point where our actions no longer represent the beliefs we hold dear. Ask your friends if they believe in liberty, justice, and freedom for all mankind. On the same note, ask what they have done to fight immunity for telecommunications companies for taking part in unconstitutional and illegal wiretapping or perhaps what they think about the latest draconian IP treaty. Most Americans still believe in the ideas that give a people the freedom of speech and thought, the ideas that provided the United States with such economic success, the ideas that our Founding Fathers fought and died for. However, most people are overwhelmed or do not care about enforcing those beliefs with action. Most do not take part in the political process, nor even remain informed about the issues of the day.
Blame the media, blame the government, or you can even blame Abraham Lincoln. It hardly matters, because we are to blame. The American people have let the government and corporations take action for too long. These actions do not represent the beliefs and ideals of the American people, they reflect the perverted ideals of the elite few that control the American mindshare. The ideals of the elite few who only take action to serve their own interests. We will break free from their stranglehold, but it will take more than just words and internet posts. It will take action. And that is why we are here.
We are the dissidents of dissonance.
We are here to take action.
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