Bush promises the moon.

Reading about Bush's proposal for a bold new American drive to the moon and to Mars. I'm a big fan of space exploration and colonization, which I'm certain will happen during the 21st century in a big way. But this isn't a real plan. It's just an election-year ploy. What Bush proposes will be multi-trillion dollar projects. The money simply isn't there, and we all know it.

Americans will go the stars, but along with the rest of the world, and I have the feeling that it's the Chinese and Russians who will be leading the way, at least for the next few decades. And then some other nations will follow them, who knows who that will be.

I could be wrong, but I really don't see how a nation whose space shuttle fleet is still grounded can accomplish such great goals. From the private sector maybe, but not through the federal government. And even privately only in cooperation with other nations.

One of the great differences of the America of today from the America of JFK that went to the moon is the educational system. When Sputnik was launched in 1957 Americans realized it needed to keep its technological edge, and responded by pumping tons of money into its school systems, promoting the heck out of the study of mathematics and sciences of all types. It was all the rage then, and continued through the 1960s. But now its cutting funding for schools, not expanding them.

Another great difference, and probably the reason that the US was more successful than the Russians, at least in getting to the moon, was that the US was much more open. Information flowed freely, government agencies shared their research with the private sector, and vice versa. When mistakes were made the press freely reported them, and they were corrected. Unlike the USSR where mistakes were hushed over, and problems left to fester.

But now the trend in the US is to control the flow of information. Technology is classified, and hidden. And every day more so. Copyright laws make it very difficult to access other people's research. Corporations reserve their patents for themselves instead of sharing them. Libraries are monitored to make sure "dangerous" people aren't studying technologies which might be used to engage in so-called "terrorism." University research is focused on the short-term goal of producing products for corporations to sell, rather than on the long-term ones of studying science for knowledge sake. And worst of all, lawyers, accountants and politicians direct the programs, not the scientists and dreamers who know what they're doing. Witness what happend to the space shuttle Columbia. The scientists and engineers involved knew that there were problems. But the politicians in charge had to hide them in order to protect their butts.

No, this isn't a nation that is going to the stars. At least not under the likes of George Bush. The Mars rover is very impressive, and the pictures are fascinating. But it hasn't been paid for. The international space station has lost international support because nobody trusts the Americans who insist on doing everything their way and calling all of the shots. And the space shuttle fleet that was supposed to transport people and supplies there is grounded. At the moment the station is leaking air. Because the politicians running NASA chose to focus on all-American projects such as the Mars expeditions, rather than the more boring and mundane tasks of getting a basic station established. And wanted to pretend that they had unlimited money for all sorts of grandiose projects rather than accepting the limits of America's resources and finances and making some hard choices. It's too bad, because having a base in the international space station from which other expeditions could be launched or at least supported could have provided an essential first step in true space colonization.

The pictures of Mars are beautiful though. But I look at them though, and pray that Americans aren't able to get control of it all and fill up that empty landscape with fast-food franchises.



We lost a lot of true stars during 2003.

Long-time critic and reviewer of American culture Rex Reed pens an elegaic farewell to the many great cultural figures who passed away during 2003, Final Farwell to Friends and Icons, in the New York Observer. Very nicely done. He's right, there sure were a lot of them, some that are household names, some that you hardly ever heard of. An excellent slice of Americana.


He really feels 2003 was a rotten year. I had a pretty hard year myself, but I still don't think it was that bad. I think America's just getting old, and like many old people in their final years, prefers to look back on its youth as the "golden years", and claim that "things just aren't what they used to be." The end of America is really the best thing to happen to the world in a long time, in a very, very, very long time. It's senility in its old age is hard to bear, and painful to all those who loved it, but that's nothing new. That's not the fault of the young. America had a grand run, but everything passes, everything changes, and I'm sure that what replaces it will be a thousand times better.

I'm glad though that he takes a moment to remember what was, and to give credit where credit was due. Bob Hope may have stopped laughing finally, but I still smile when I think of him. And always will.



NY Times says war and economy no longer major election issues.

In an article on the election campaign in Iowa the NY Times makes the extraordinary statement that the war in Iraq and the economy are no longer significant issues. Which is certainly news to me, and certainly not what my reading of the mood of the American electorate indicates.


I can't believe that they say the economy is not an issue. And that they claim that the rising stock market means it is no longer in a "downturn." Notice how they work the spin. "A third said the economy is now doing well." Which means that two-thirds think that it is still doing badly. Last time I looked a two-thirds majority was more than enough to win an election. And given a jobs report just this week that said only 1,000 jobs were created, and during the holiday shopping season, when the economists had predicted 150,000, I would say that there's still plenty of pain out there.

But even more amazing is the claim that since Saddam was captured the war is no longer of concern to Americans. With several major attacks just this week, including the near downing of a major transport plane, I'd have to say that the war is still going strong. And I'm sure that the Iowans whose sons and daughters are over there are still concerned.

They keep repeating that Dean's rise is due mostly to his "opposition" to the war, which I would say is a bit of an over-exaggeration. But they like to frame things in single issue context, which makes spinning them easier, and so Dean is oversimplified as an "antiwar" candidate. But it's much more complicated than that. But they want to paint him as a "McGovern", and ascribe his support among younger voters as a replay of the sixties. Again, it's easier to oversimplify. Personally I think most of them are more concerned about the devastating effects of the rising deficits, which their generation will have to pay off. Not to mention many other things, such as health care.

They're just terrified of Dean. Could it be that his comments suggesting that he may pursue anti-trust action against the large media conglomerates, including considering breaking the biggest ones up, have something to do with that?

Personally, I think this obsession with New Hampshire and Iowa is quite obsolete, a throwback to presidential politics of a century ago. I don't think that either state is that significant, or that the outcome of their elections is anywhere as important as it used to be. Things have changed. If they didn't happen to be first, I don't think they'd hardly be mentioned at all. It just shows how out of touch American politics has gotten with the realities of 21st century America.

And as someone who lives on the west coast, I'm getting awfully tired of people in small states in the eastern part of the country getting to choose the president. Awfully tired. I don't get the impression that people who live in Oregon are going to have any say in choosing the Democrat nominee at all.



O'Neill also says Iraq planning began long before 9/11.

The Guardian also reports, in another article that O'Neill claims that planning for the invasion of Iraq began immediately after Bush took office, and that it continued plans begun under the Clinton administration.





O'Neill says Bush won't discuss economics with others.

The Guardian reports that former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has said that President Bush won't even discuss the economy with treasury officials and other economic advisors.


As has been said before, the majority isn't silent, the government is deaf.

January 09, 2004

Hope dies last.

In These Times offers up a page of selections from Studs Terkel latest book, Hope Dies last, which is a collection of interviews with activists of all ages and walks of life. Prefaced with some comments by Studs himself.


Some inspiring selections are included. I love Studs' work, I think he's one of the best American historians ever. Because he lets people tell their own history, usually without comment. Which is the way it should be. Here's one excerpt.


Much as I love his work though, I think that maybe he sees things as worse and harder than they are. I guess that's hard to avoid as you get older. But in a way it itself makes things harder. But I don't see that, as he says, "passivity is the order of the day." Not at all. But people see what they want to see. The very phrase "hope dies last" creates the feeling that other things are dying. We create the world we live in by our own perceptions of it. If you believe things are dying, then they will die. But only for you. Not for those who believe differently.

The thing that depresses me the most these days is that I can't get people to even _consider_ the possibility that things might actually be getting better. They've already decided that they're getting worse, and that the subject has been closed forever. I've made a decision to avoid the company of these people, even though it's cost me some old friends and even some family. But I feel much better. Much, much better.

I notice that Dave Winer says, "My dream of the Web being a place for collaborative development went bust a long time ago." I couldn't disagree more. Maybe he just thought it would happen faster than it did. But it very definitely has, and is, happening. This blog, and the blogging software it uses, and the web itself, are all examples of that. It's way beyond what I could ever do myself, and infinitely more useful than anything I would have imagined could happen when I started working with computers twenty years ago. And it's growing every day. But it's really, really difficult to measure the progress you're making on something while you're working on it. It's only when you step aside, and look back that you see it. That you see how all of the little pieces have added up. But it's there. It's definitely there. You're reading it.

After reading that on Dave's weblog, I noticed this on caterina.net.


That's exactly it. Believe good things will happen and they will. And don't listen to the politicians. Listen to the artists. :) All the answers you need are here, although they're not presented on a silver platter. You have to work for them.



A positive New Year's message.

Found this message from Eolake Stobblehouse, the founder of Domai, and one of the most positive-minded people on the web, that I thought I'd share.

So we are already a couple of days into 2004. How time flies.

I believe this century and this millennium will be times of great spiritual breakthroughs for mankind.

Yes, undeniably, the first few years have been rather scary. But there is a difference between "scary" and "bad". One might be scared for little reason, and the fear can easily mask perceptions of a greater good.

Some forces on Planet Earth see it as their job to make people live in fear. Or maybe they think that they can better do their jobs if people do. I am thinking mainly of governments, and the media.

Governments get handed more money and more power by a frightened population. And the media sell more papers and advertising if the audience is so scared that they dare not look away.

Yet, if one looks carefully, things are very different than we are told. For instance, media are talking much more now about violence and crime, so one naturally gets the impression that they are on the rise. But if you look at the facts, both are actually falling during the past ten years! And so on.

Both myself and many others have for years now had a very strong perception that something very powerfully good is happening. There are many different ideas about what it is. But it seems to have much to do with awareness. If you start looking for it, you will see awareness rising in all kinds of areas, and all the right areas. And awareness is the basis of all progress and all good.

Also imagine if one of those areas is the awareness that we are not really free at all. Wouldn't that be very scary to wake up to? And yet, without that awareness, could you ever become free?

Also, if you are not free, wouldn't there be forces who imprison you? And if you start waking up, wouldn't those forces start panicking, and go to desperate lengths to keep you down?

Yet, one of the universal perceptions about this spiritual "jail break" is that it seems inevitable. Like a sports match with a huge surplus of points and just ten seconds to go, the outcome is technically not decided, but everybody knows what it will be.

We are probably not all the way through the frightening parts yet. It may even get worse for a few years. But remember that whatever you fear, the worse enemy is fear itself. If you remain calm and optimistic, things will go so much easier.

It will all be good.

This is exactly how I feel. I felt on 9/11, and feel today, that it was not the beginning of tragic times, but a powerful, albeit sad, breakthrough to something better. I know many don't understand that, but change is often violent and usually frightening. But almost always good. This site is all about human history, and the more I study it the better I think things are getting. As he says, there is a difference between "scary" and "bad."

One thing I'd add to it is that I think the increased population of the earth is a very "good" thing. A very, very, very good thing. Very few people agree with me on that, and seem quite upset if I suggest it. But I think most of them just don't like people very much, especially those whose skin doesn't happen to be the same shade of color as theirs. They focus on what additional people take away from them, but maybe they should think more about what they add instead. I think people are beautiful, and that the addition of so many more is a blessing, not a curse. Especially considering that so many of them are beautiful women. :)

And I'm not in the least worried about the ability of the planet to support them. For one thing it's biologically impossible for any population to exceed its food supply. Growth in nature simply cannot occur if there aren't the resources to support it. That's Biology 101 and incontrovertible. And where I live, in the western US, there is an absolutely incredible amount of open land, as there is in many other areas on the planet as well. Many areas are in fact experiencing population declines, not expansion. And global warming is opening up enormous expanses in the north even as we speak. The planet adjusts and heals itself accordingly, and I think we all could do the same.

So if you want to insist that the cup is half-empty, go ahead and bum yourself out. But please don't deny the right of others to believe that it's half-full, or even overflowing. Because it is.



LA Times comments on US deficits.

In a new editorial, Rising Deficit, Rising Fears, the LA Times adds to the growing concern raised by the out-of-control American deficits. [Registration req'd.]


Rest assured that savvy, well-to-do baby boomers aren't going to take the hit. They're already moving their funds out of the country, buying up property here and there, and planning on comfortable retirements while the country that gave them everything goes down the tubes.



Almanacs and the internet.

The FBI recently warned people to be on guard against people carrying almanacs, claiming that these handy reference works could be used to research potential targets and such.


Many sarcastic comments have been made about this, many pointing out that maybe the finest American who ever lived, Benjamin Franklin, himself published an almanac. But what just occurred to me, is that the internet has effectively made almanacs obsolete. All of the information in them, and infinitely more besides, is easily available over the web. Train and plane schedules, abbreviations (???), weather reports, you name it.

So is the next step to shut down the web, and/or to arrest anyone carrying a PDA or portable computer as a potential terrorist? Are they going to start searching and questioning anyone seen in an airport terminal using a computer? Or writing something in a notebook? And aren't there still internet terminals available to the public in airports?

It's pretty funny actually. But in a way it's also rather frightening, since it seems to imply that the FBI is unaware of the amount of info available on the net, and that they really believe that they can actually prevent people from accessing it. Almost pathetic.

And what about chat rooms, discussion forums and so on? Not to mention good old fashioned telephones and faxes. All of which could easily be used to organize a terrorist plot. And what is a "suspicious way" of annotating an almanac? Using a yellow hilighter? Underlining words? Unbelievable.

Another rather strange policy is that of fingerprinting people arriving at airports and cruise ship terminals. I understand the value of this, which actually could be used to trace people. But they are exempting people from Europe, Canada, Australia and other mostly-white nations. Which is absurd. If they're going to take these measures, then take them and make them effective. But to take them while leaving such glaring and obvious loopholes in them indicates an extraordinary degree of incompetence, and an incredibly unrealistic view of the modern world. There are, for example, millions of Islamic people in Europe.



Dollar has a very bad week.

The Financial Times reports on the dollar's very bad week. I noted the other day that it was going down at a rate of a penny a day. But it seems to be picking up. A penny an hour? Wow.


It's about to crack the $1.30/euro barrier too, which should have a major psychological effect. It also appears that it would be going down even faster if it were not for massive intervention by the Japanese. But that even that seems to be having only a temporary effect, also apparently lasting only minutes. It would seem that the Japanese are reaching the limits of what they can do, and that like the European Central Bank, will just let it go.


I said before that I think it will hit the $2/euro level by the end of the year. Now I think it might just do that by the end of summer, if not before. At the current rate it could cross $1.40 just by the end of January. It just seems unavoidable. The renewed attacks in Iraq, a jobs report that only 1,000 jobs were created in the US during December rather than the 150,000 that economists had predicted, which is really bad news given that it was during the holiday shopping season, the fact that the US government clearly thinks that rising stock markets are a reason to avoid making any major economic changes, accelerating American deficits, an election year which makes it impossible for either party to prescribe any harsh medicine, and many other developments all suggest that there is no reason to expect the trend to reverse. On the contrary, they indicate that it will accelerate.

The Guardian business section has an overview on the reactions of various media around the world to the dollar's change, Markets wonder where the buck will stop. It would seem that only fairly conservative publications in the US and the UK think it's not that serious. Everyone else predicts more of the same. One side is here.


And the other side is here.


Gotta love that "money is just paper" part. That's absolutely priceless. Does everybody else in DC know that? :) I'll have to keep that in mind when it comes time to pay my taxes. Will they accept toilet paper? And that it's all about "trust, outlook and confidence in the government which has issued the money." Actually, to a certainly degree that'sexactly it. It's not just the dollar that's falling, it's global confidence in the US government. But it's not just perception. The American deficits are very, very real, and growing. And sooner or later the bills come due. And to the folks at Newsday, is a penny a day "gentle?"

And where they say it's only against the yen, pound and euro. Only?. Aren't these the three most important ones in the world, the currencies that most other countries use as a yardstick? In any case, that's a blatant lie, or at least a very severe distortion of the facts. It's affecting the Australian and Canadian dollars as well, and it's beginning to hit many others as well. The only major nation that seems to be going the other way is, sadly, Mexico.

January 07, 2004

Top Canadian blogs.

Blogs Canada has a page of the Top Canadian Blogs. There is also a list of the Top Blogs - January 2004.

In case you were bored, or wanted to avoid discussions of the American election, which is already getting tiresome, and with nearly a whole year to go. Though I suppose even the Canadians are discussing it.

My personal favorite Canadian ones are the Vancouver-based caterina.net, by a charming woman into art, poetry and such, and the place I found the link to Blogs Canada to begin with, Wood s Lot, which is maybe the most consistently interesting, mentally stimulating and intellectually challenging site on the web. I always find something good to read there -- always. And you certainly can't say that about most sites, blogs or otherwise. There's a very long list of links there as well. May take a moment or two to load though, since they usually include a number of photos, paintings, lengthy poems and such. But it's worth it.



Iraq definitely had no WMDs.

The Washington Post's Barton Gellman reports, rather definitively, that Iraq's Arsenal Was Only On Paper. That they had no arsenal of WMDs, and that since the first Gulf War, any intentions to build any never got past the planning stage. Although they did have a few scientists who were working on plans, and probably the desire to rearm, they clearly did not have the facilities or resources necessary to get anywhere with them. It also seems rather clear that both Bush and Blair were fully aware of this.


As far as chemical or biological weapons, it appears that any efforts in that direction also effectively ended in 1990-1991.


It's a long and detailed article, which pretty much summarizes what is now known about the degree and extent of Iraqi efforts in this area since 1990. Definitely worth a reading, and worth publicizing given the continuing number of Americans who apparently still believe that they did have WMDs.

And as long as we're on the subject, it should also be pointed out that both the Americans and the British have had, and continue to have, extensive programs to both develop and deploy nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, and that at the moment these efforts are not only not being shut down but are being expanded. And that both governments have announced policies that would allow these to be used against civilian populations should their leaders decide it is necessary, or even just politically desirable. And that these programs are, in turn, leading other nations, such as Russia, India and China, to almost certainly expand their own programs, if only as deterrents to future Anglo-American aggression.



IMF projects potential $47 trillion US shortfall.

A new IMF study, reported in the NY Times, suggests that US deficits threaten the stability of the entire world economy. It's a story that's getting told more and more, especially as the deficits get worse and worse, but for the IMF to state it so bluntly is especially worrisome. And rather surprising given the influence Americans have in the organization. They also project a potential shortfall of a whopping $47 trillion over the next few decades.


But even this is not enough to get the attention of Bush and company. Somehow I don't think that they're the ones that are going to lack food and health care.


Especially note this statement about the size of the projected shortfalls. $47 trillion. (Yes, that's trillion, not billion.) Wow. And five times the entire American GDP. That's an almost inconceivable amount of money.


As someone who is 51, I have to assume at this point that all of the money I've deposited in Social Security is pretty much gone, or devalued to the point of irrelevance, and that I'm going to have to do some awfully fancy financial finagling in the next decade if I want to avoid ending up on the streets in my old age. Damn, damn, damn. Oh well, it's only money. It's only life. It's only ... catastrophic.

But from now on it's cash only, and I think it might be wise to avoid American banks as well. For the first time I see the possibility of large numbers of American banks going under, or at least having their funds confiscated by the government one way or another. The devaluing of the dollar to finance the deficit is actually a variation on that. I know that there's FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance), which is supposed to back the banks in the event of a collapse, but that's only on paper, and that isn't any good if there isn't any actual cash to cough up.



The long deep slide of America.

Came upon this excellent site, The Black Commentator, via the always interesting Wood s Lot. The link was to this article, Black America Must Prepare For the Long Deep Slide, which I think is a rather accurate analysis of the impact of the new American imperialism on us all. (Not just Black America, but all of us.) The scenario he outlines is not a pretty picture, and I have to agree with his conclusion that it means that America is in for a period of serious decline.


And they agree with me that the decline in the dollar is no minor adjustment, but represents a profound and historical decline in America itself. And that soon the world oil prices will use the Euro as the standard, led by Russia, which now has the world's largest reserves of it, and which does most of its business with Europe, not America.


Anyway, a very long and interesting analysis. I probably quote too much of it, but they make many salient points which I think are worth repeating.

The only part that I would disagree with is that I don't think the impact on Americans will be limited to African-Americans, although I guess that people of color, as always, will be quite devastated. But I think it will apply to all poor and working Americans, and could in fact cause the elimination of the middle class, at least as we have come to know it. And I think the crunch will come sooner or later, especially if Bush decides to invade another country, as it appears he may very well do. And I don't hear anything from the Democrats that indicates that they are prepared to take any serious measures to deal with it. Whether it's Dean or Clark.

January 06, 2004

A reminder from Bob Dylan.

Got an email from the Dean campaign saying that the election is "on." I guess they're right, time to stop talking and start doing. I think a good place to start, especially for the so-called progressives, would be by considering these words of Dylan's.


I'm not saying I don't believe in democracy. I do. Just not that voting is the end and be all of existence, or that it is the answer to every problem in the world. Sheriff Dean ain't going to ride into Dodge and clean up town. If you think he will you've been watching too much TV, or listening to NPR. The problems are much, much deeper than that, and they are not going to be solved by making marks on a piece of paper. That's superstition, not democracy. Participate in the election if you want, but don't fool yourself into thinking that voting is all it's going to take. Otherwise, even if the Democrats win, the Bushes and their friends will come back again, just like they did after eight years of Clinton. And they'll come back stronger than ever, just like they did this time. I think we ought to solve this problem once and for all, or at least start thinking about ways to do so. But I guess I'm just a voice in the wilderness on this one. I don't think I'm alone though. At least ol' Bob agrees with me. :)



China studies yuan peg changes.

The Asia Times, in an article on the recent currency changes, Dollar slide to push Euro to new heights, reports that on Monday Chinese officials indicated that they may move sooner than later to change the way the yuan is valued on global markets, moving from tying it to the US dollar to tying it to a basket of international currencies. Which, in the long run, would be the best thing for a stable global economy.


I find the Asia Times to be an excellent source of objective reporting on world affairs. Perspectives you simply don't find in the American and European press.



Wonderful story of a woman activist.

I'm a big history buff, and no aspect of history interests me more than the biographies of individual people. People talk about great historical movements and such. But when it comes down to it there really aren't any great movements, just the actions of thousands and millions of ordinary people attempting to deal with the day-to-day realities of the world around them.

But you don't often appreciate someone's life until they're gone, and you can look back and see what they've accomplished. A wonderful case in point is this Scottish activist, Dame Sheila McKechnie, who spent her life as an advocate of consumer rights, of the homeless, as a feminist, as a member of the House of Commons, and many other things. I found out about her on the Scotsman's obituary pages. A strange place to browse I know, but you can read about the lives of an extraordinary cross-section of humanity, and gain some perspective on the amazing things some people are able to do with their lives.

Anyway, if you're an activist and perhaps somewhat discouraged, you might give it a read. People do spend their lives fighting for various causes, and in the end accomplishing quite a bit more than you might think is possible. Like I say, you don't see what they've done until it's over. And it's nice when they're recognized. Too bad it's usually not until they're dead.


In Britain they acknowledge such people by knighting them. (For Americans who don't know, a "Dame" is the female equivalent of "Sir"). In America, of course, they're lucky if they don't end up on the streets.



Halliburton off 'overcharging' hook.

BBC News reports that Halliburton has been cleared of charges that it overcharged for fuel deliveries to Iraq.


Well, I'm sure it was a thorough and honest investigation. And it's good to know that the army is on the ball, and that there isn't any illegal and immoral war profiteering going on over there. God bless America.



Osama calls for continuing jihad.

The Guardian reprints edited selections of Osama bin Laden's latest call for continuing jihad against the west, entitled Resist the New Rome. I think this guy is crazy, but I link to it and reprint part of it, because I think it's important for people to know who and what they're dealing with.


He goes on to say that he think Riyadh will be next after Baghdad, so I guess that means we can expect more violence in Saudi Arabia. The rantings of a madman as far as I can see, but one with apparently a lot of supporters, so he has to be taken seriously.

The Guardian also has a special section, The Bin Laden tapes in full, which lists all of the various tapes and announcements he's made during the last few years.

Addendum: See the editorial/comment by Guardian's readers' editor, Ian Mayes, on the discussion of whether or not it was appropriate for them to print this, especially to print it on the comments pages rather than as a news item. Also please note that they printed an edited transcript of his pronouncement. Not the entire thing.


Personally I think they should definitely have printed it, and I'm disappointed that no American paper choose to follow suit. If we're going to plunge the world into global war in order to fight this man and his followers we really should know all we can about what they think.



World resists US orders to put armed marshals on flights.

The Guardian reports that British pilots are refusing to fly on flights with armed marshals on guard, as the US has recently required on all foreign flights. And that their reluctance is being shared by other European nations, with a potential EU summit on the issue being considered.


This can't be good for the American economy. Along with the measures requiring the fingerprinting of foreign visitors (except Europeans and other whites), it means that it is getting harder and harder for people to come to this country. And if they can't come here, then they won't want to do business here either.

It's not just the Europeans either. Mexico and Brazil are quite upset. And there's an editorial in today's Sydney Morning Herald, suggesting that the US is Exporting its security problems.



US military arbitrarily extends reservists terms.

The US military is now stretched so thin that it is now forcing reservists whose terms of duty have expired to continue serving anyway. Despite written commitments which amount to legally-binding contracts. Which amounts to virtual slavery. It also seriously weakens the future military readiness of the US since if people can't be certain that the army will honor the commitments it makes to them when they sign up, then naturally they will be reluctant to sign up.

See this NY Times article on the subject.


The extra bonuses are very interesting. In effect, this says that there aren't enough Americans who believe that the US is under any real threat, and that the only way they can keep the war machine going is by buying mercenaries. Very sad.

On top of that, there are continuing reports that the army cannot afford to supply reservists with the bullet-proof vests, side-arms and other auxiliary equipment that it gives to regular troops. Apparently the families of some of these soldiers are purchasing these items out of private funds and shipping them over. Unbelievable. $400 billion a year for the military, and they can't afford enough guns. And worse they are sending people into very dangerous situations without the proper equipment.

Also see this Washington Post article, Army Stops Many Soldiers From Quitting. And this one from My Way News, by Robert Burns entitled Army Trying to Keep Troops From Leaving. [Both via the ever-useful Cursor.]

Rep. Kucinich calls it an "involuntary draft." He's right. That's exactly what it is.



Dollar continues its penny a day decline.

The Financial Times reports that the dollar continued its now a penny a day decline today, reaching $1.28/euro, albeit briefly.


Given the strength not only in the US stock markets, but markets worldwide, I'm not sure what this means, but there you are. It can't possibly continue to decline at this rate. At a penny a day that would mean $3-4/euro by the end of the year, if not more.

For a more general analysis of this all, including some historical perspective, see this article in the Guardian, The Best Recovery Money Can Buy, by William Keegan, the Observer's senior economics commentator.


It's about time someone acknowledged that the growth in US stocks is due almost entirely to warmongering and war profiteering, along with an easy money policy based on borrowing from future generations. But those are just short-term gains. That is, the rising Dow does not signify increased long-term investment in endeavors that have any long-term payoff, which is what capital markets are supposed to be about. On the contrary, it just represents the sacrifice of America's future fiscal and social health to Bush's reelection prospects. "After us, the deluge."

And yet another Guardian article on the subject, No end in sight to dollar's descent, in which they lay most of the blame on the American Federal Reserve's policy of rock-bottom interest rate.

I won't quote much of it, but I did note this part.


This is noteworthy, because just today it broke through that $1.28 level. And I don't think the risk of a "crisis" is low at all. I think it's already reached crisis levels. But I'm not an economist, so what do I know?

I have to link mostly to British and other foreign reports on this subject, since the American press seems to be studiously avoiding the issue.

January 05, 2004

Republicans and Nazis.

Dave Winer makes a very succinct comment on MoveOn's comparison of Bush to Hitler that I have to agree with completely.


I quote him rather than saying the same thing myself since he's better known, and more importantly, he has money and is basically fairly conservative. For some reason, Americans only take you seriously if you have money. I have no idea why, but there you are. :) But what's happening in this country is quite serious, and it's not just "crazed lefties" who are getting frightened.

Where I differ from Dave is that I don't think the Republicans are entirely to blame, or that getting them out of office will substantially change things. I think that's a bit self-serving, as I've said before. I think it's fairly certain that the election this year will be a massive Democratic sweep. But what I'm frightened about is that once the Democrats get in, they will not dismantle the apparatus of the police state, but instead will come up with a kinder, gentler version of the same thing, and just end up institutionalizing it. There's an old saying: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." And it doesn't matter much whether the contractor hired to pave that road is Haliburton/Bechtel, or some corporation owned by Democratic fat cats. In the long run the results will be virtually the same.

Virtually all of the measures the Republicans have taken against civil rights in the name of the "war on terror" are basically extensions of measures that have been taken for years in the name of the "war on drugs." And I honestly can't recall any prominent Democrats ever objecting when the civil liberties of drug users are violated, or complaining that the media wasn't covering them. And if you don't stand up for others, you can't really expect others to stand up for you.

Still, like he says, people do need to wake up. And soon. Better late than never, I suppose.



Snow, snow, snow.

It's snowing almost everywhere in Oregon tonight, and has been for the last week or so. Which is very unusual for Eugene and the southern Willamette valley. Causing quite a few problems I guess, but most folks seem to be just hunkering down and enjoying it. Had a genuine white Christmas even.

As a southern California boy, it's a bit of a switch for me, but I must say it's awfully beautiful, especially up in the mountains outside Eugene which is where I am. And not that cold either, just down into the 20s so far. There was supposed to be a really cold Arctic front moving down here, but I guess it didn't get much farther than Portland.

Hope it doesn't last too long, if for no other reason than that I need to get off the mountain and get down into the city and do some stuff, and that mountain road could be a bit tricky when it's icy. But in the meantime, the view is great, so "let it snow, let it snow..."

Eugene Register-Guard article, Valley feels chill of rare snow.





Increased probability of attacks on the US and UK.

Both British and American authorities have been issuing many warnings over the last month about the possibility of further attacks on their countries by Islamic warriors. The Americans have begun requiring fingerprinting of all visitors to the US (except Europeans and Canadians, who are exempted I guess because they're mostly white people), and requiring armed marshalls on all foreign flights, among other measures. The British have stated that they plan to continue their armed presence in Iraq until at least 2006 and probably for years after that (not surprising since they've been there one way or another for over a century), and also that people can expect years of further delays and problems when travelling.

I hope no one is surprised by this, or deluded themselves into thinking that by attacking Afghanistan and Iraq, or capturing Saddam, would end these troubles, or that the so-called "terrorists" would simply give up and fade away. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction," and any objective observer would already know that these attacks, however well intentioned or "noble" in purpose, would inevitably result in counter-attacks. It's just life, not anything "evil." But Blair and Bush have opened up a very ugly can of worms, and the repercussions of this will continue for many years, long after they're both out of office. And it won't be them who suffer.

So get ready for more attacks folks, and expect them to continue until the British and Americans withdraw their troops from the rest of the world, and stop pretending that they have some sort of God-given duty or right to be the world's policemen. The rest of the world simply won't go along with this, and anyone who thinks they will is seriously deluded.



2003 Koufax Awards.

The folks at Wampum are having a competition to choose the 2003 Koufax Awards, what they consider the best "lefty" blogs of the year. I don't really understand what a "lefty" is, or how they can distinguish those from others, unless it's simply Bush-bashing, but it's worth checking out.

One of the categories is for Best Post of 2003. Their list of nominations, selected by their readers, makes for some interesting reading on a variety of topics.

Their list of nominees for Best Blog is also probably worth checking out. Heck, here's the complete list of them. I don't agree with a lot of their politics, but I have to agree that they're probably the best of the bunch, and it's convenient to have all of the links together.


The other category is Best Single Issue Blog.

I really must add at least some of these to my blogroll, although a few of them are already there.

Again, this does not constitute any sort of endorsement of the views expressed on these sites, especially all of the Bush-bashing. I dislike Bush as much as anyone, but corporate America was quite corrupt before he came along, and the Democrats are as much to blame as the Republicans, as far as I can see. Enron, WorldCom, et al, for example, all happened on Clinton-Gore's watch, not Bushes.

And as far as the Democrats being a party of "peace", I can only point out that they were in charge during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and peacemonger Carter's dirty little Central American wars. Both parties are warmongers deluxe, and history would suggest that either party will get us into a great big ugly war.

I don't want to be that criticial since I believe their hearts are in the right place, and that they mean well, but they're not seeing the whole picture or dealing with the real problems, which run much, much deeper than the current Republican idiocies.

The word "protest" combines "pro" (to be in favor of something, as in "pro and con"), and "testify" (to stand up for something). Popular mythology notwithstanding, it doesn't mean to be AGAINST something, but to be FOR something. We all know what they're against. But what are they for? Until they figure that out all of the moaning and groaning will accomplish absolutely nothing. In fact it will make it worse since it just lets this corrupt system continue on and on and on. To think that Sheriff Dean will ride into Dodge and clean out the bad guys, and that everything will be fine is utterly ridiculous, to put it mildly. Ain't going to happen. Not this year, not next year, not ever.

January 04, 2004

Breslin on troops occupying NY and the attacks on Dean.

Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin is unhappy with armed troops invading and occupying his beloved New York City. I wonder why? In this column, The New American System of Justice, he wonders why this is, and goes on to wonder why Howard Dean is getting so much flack for insisting that the constitution be followed, no matter what. Via The Smirking Chimp.


And I thought NY was supposed to be free of violent, armed crime these days.

I really like him for supporting Howard Dean's claim that Osama bin Laden should not be declared guilty of any crimes until he has a trial, and for challenging those who think that it's "un-American" to say so.


Indeed. 9/11 was a very great crime, although not nearly as great that many the US has itself committed during the last 100 years, (most especially Vietnam for which there still haven't been any trials, hearings or tribunals, much less punishments), and we need to do everything to find out the truth about it. If Osama was responsible then he should be punished. But without any trial we'll never know what really happened. And I have yet to see any documented "facts" that prove he was involved at all. (Yes, I believe he was, but that's not the same thing as documented proof, as any lawyer will tell you.)

And I still want to know why the Bushes were just so eager to fly the bin Ladens out of the country on 9/11. Why would they do that? And what possible reason could Bush have for blocking the release of reports investigating that day? Why?

I think the Republicans are going to face some really angry New Yorkers when they show up for their convention next summer, not to mention plenty of other angry folks.



Picture of Mars.

There's a wonderful photo of the Martian landscape here. Absolutely beautiful. Or at least as beautiful as a landscape with no mountains or other landmarks could be. No McDonald's or Pizza Huts yet, but give them time.



Almuajaha - The Iraqi Witness.

Via A Family in Baghdad blog referenced below is a link to this Iraqi newspaper and web site, Almuajaha - The Iraqi Witness. Many different links, commentaries, along with an open forum. And in English.

Didn't browse it all that much, but did read these two essays by a 22-year old Iraqi woman, "Who Is Responsible?" and "A New Kind of Democracy", together with many comments


Have to agree with most of it, but can't say I like the part about criticizing Israel, which is rather sad and pathetic. While there is no evidence of WMD's in Iraq, there is indisputable evidence of payments to Palestinian suicide bombers by Saddam, something for which the Iraqis really owe the Israelis an apology. The Israelis didn't start the wars or attack first, the Arabs did. That is an historical fact, and if Israel hadn't developed WMD's as a deterrent (which they've never used), then they would have been attacked even more. And if they hadn't taken out Iran's nuclear power plant years ago, then they would have nuclear weapons by now. The Israelis deserve a lot of credit for whatever peace there has been in the region. Criticize them all you want, you can't change the facts.

But I guess a young woman like this, with so little access to accurate information and without an objective media to report the truth, is only repeating what she's been told over and over again, apparently it's all propaganda designed to divert attention from their own problems. Hopefully some day at least some of the people in these countries will come to their senses about this.

"Who is responsible?" she asks, and rightly so. Certainly the Americans share some of the blame, along with the British who have been interfering in Iraqi affairs for a century or more, and so was Saddam, along with many others. But Saddam could not have stayed in power for that many years without substantial help from many Iraqis. Americans should look to themselves for the reasons that they were attacked on September 11th, and Iraqis should look to themselves for the reasons that they have suffered so much. (And someone should tell the British to look at a map, and explain to them that the British Isles are part of Europe, not part of the Mideast.)

It's so easy to blame others, but so rarely true. But don't mind me; I realize how much easier and more convenient it is to blame others. And it's always others, isn't it? And I guess the Jews are the most convenient scapegoats around, despite the fact that they've never attacked or invaded Iraq, or interfered in their affairs in any way. I'd really like to know of a single instance in which an Israeli has killed an Iraqi. Just one.



"La mer miserable," (the Tigris River).

There's a really nice blog from Iraq, A Family in Baghdad, with entries from everyone in the family (except Dad who thinks it's all nonsense :)). Very useful insights into daily life there. I was struck by this entry on the ageless Tigris River. (Actually I think "mer" means "sea", not "river," but why quibble.)


They also reproduce Willie's Christmas song. I guess a lot of Americans and a lot of Iraqis actually are in agreement on a lot of things.



Willie Nelson writes a Christmas song.

Willie Nelson was inspired to write a new song on Christmas day in which he wonders whatever happend to peace on earth. My sentiments exactly. Good to know not everyone from Texas is crazy. Via Counterpunch.

---

End of entries. ( page top )   ( column top )