Posts while travelling/ecovering in January

Future of War on Terrorism

Gary C Gibson. - 12:24pm Jan 14, 2005 EDT (#68 of 443)
John 10:16 "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."

It is very difficult to predict the ' war on terror'. The term is perjorative of course, the cost for the activity incommensurate with long term fiscal responsibility, and its effectiveness dubious at best. Certainly it can employ many Texans and oil field personnel affilliated with the Bush/Cheyney/Rice axis of enterprise.

The prophet Nahum wrote in the 7th century B.C. of the capture empire of Assyria reared behind a military genius to rule Babylon, Judah, Israel, Egypt etc. for a while ... (Contemporary English version translation)

Nahum 2 Nineveh Will Fall 1Nineveh, someone is coming to attack and scatter you. Guard your fortresses! Watch the road! Be brave! Prepare for battle!

2Judah and Israel are like trees with branches broken by their enemies. But the LORD is going to restore their power and glory.

3Nineveh, on this day of attack, your enemies' shields are red; their uniforms are crimson.

4Their horses [a] prance, and their armored [b] chariots dart around like lightning or flaming torches.

5An officer gives a command. But his soldiers stumble, as they hasten to build a shelter to protect themselves against rocks thrown down from the city wall.

6The river gates [c] fly open, and panic floods the palace.

7Nineveh is disgraced. The queen is dragged off. Her servant women mourn; they sound like doves, and they beat their breasts in sorrow.

[d] 8Nineveh is like a pond with leaking water. Shouts of "Stop! Don't go!" can be heard everywhere. But everyone is leaving.

9Enemy soldiers shout, "The city is full of treasure and all kinds of wealth. Steal her silver! Grab her gold!"

10Nineveh is doomed! Destroyed! Her people tremble with fear; their faces turn pale. [e] 11What happened to this city? They were safer there than powerful lions in a den, with no one to disturb them.

12These are the same lions that ferociously attacked their victims, then dragged away the flesh to feed their young.

13The LORD All-Powerful is against you, Nineveh. God will burn your chariots and send an army to kill those young lions of yours.

You will never again make victims of others or send messengers to threaten everyone on this earth.

Nahum 3 Punishment for Nineveh The LORD said: 1Doom to the crime capital! Nineveh, city of murder and treachery,

2here is your fate-- cracking whips, churning wheels; galloping horses, roaring chariots;

3cavalry attacking, swords and spears flashing; soldiers stumbling over piles of dead bodies.

4You were nothing more than a prostitute using your magical charms and witchcraft to attract and trap nations.

5But I, the LORD All-Powerful, am now your enemy. I will pull up your skirt and let nations and kingdoms stare at your nakedness.

6I will cover you with garbage, treat you like trash, and rub you in the dirt.

7Everyone who sees you will turn away and shout, "Nineveh is done for! Is anyone willing to mourn or to give her comfort?"

Nineveh's Fate Is Sealed 8Nineveh, do you feel safer than the city of Thebes? [f] The Nile River was its wall of defense.

[g] 9Thebes trusted the mighty power of Ethiopia [h] and Egypt; the nations of Put [i] and Libya were her allies.

...

Gary C Gibson. - 12:25pm Jan 14, 2005 EDT (#70 of 443)
John 10:16 "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."

... continued at Nahum 3:10(from the Contemporary English Version) 10But she was captured and taken to a foreign country. Her children were murdered at every street corner. The members of her royal family were auctioned off, and her high officials were bound in chains.

11Nineveh, now it's your turn! You will get drunk and try to hide from your enemy.

12Your fortresses are fig trees with ripe figs. Merely shake the trees, and fruit will fall into every open mouth.

13Your army is weak. Fire has destroyed the crossbars on your city gates; now they stand wide open to your enemy.

14Your city is under attack. Haul in extra water! Strengthen your defenses! Start making bricks! Stir the mortar!

15You will still go up in flames and be cut down by swords that will wipe you out like wheat attacked by grasshoppers. So, go ahead and increase like a swarm of locusts! [j] 16More merchants are in your city than there are stars in the sky-- but they are like locusts that eat everything, then fly away.

17Your guards and your officials are swarms of locusts. On a chilly day they settle on a fence, but when the sun comes out, they take off to who-knows-where.

18King of Assyria, your officials and leaders sleep the eternal sleep, while your people are scattered in the mountains. Yes, your people are sheep without a shepherd.

19You're fatally wounded. There's no hope for you. But everyone claps when they hear this news, because your constant cruelty has caused them pain. footnotes from Bible Gateway-Contemporary English Version " Nahum 2:6 river gates: Nineveh was protected by a moat filled with water from the nearby Tigris River. Nahum 2:7 sorrow: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7. Nahum 2:10 faces turn pale: Or "ashes cover their faces." Nahum 3:8 Thebes: In 663 B.C., the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal captured this Egyptian city, which seems to have been built with protection similar to that of Nineveh. Nahum 3:8 was its. . . defense: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Nahum 3:9 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has "Cush," which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan. Nahum 3:9 Put: A region in Africa, possibly part of the present country of Libya. Nahum 3:15 locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life."

Nahum was accurate. He'd of been a wiz at predicting U.S. Security if interested. Security futures of the U.S.A are tough cookies to schedule/predict; certainly the military is mercenary serving neo-Corporatist interests, the borders are porous and economic independence outsourced. America has some similarities to those of the late stages of the Roman Empire. etc. The taxpayers will pay for the securtity needs of Global Oil interests until they are so downsourced and replaced that chaos is cheaper, maybe.

DOLLARBILL, "The Future of the War on Terror" #71, 14 Jan 2005 12:28 pm

The political objectives of neo-Corporatism and Global socialism, Muslim Empire and Globalist power all need to negate individual liberty and nationalism, or local political democratic self-determination. Environmentalism is perhaps the only necessary transnational political item. Broadcast power is an aspect of the conjunction of mass control. See Ortega Y Gasset's 'Revolt of the Masses for a pre-world war two security analysis, and possibly 'Animal Farm'.

Bush’s Inaugural Address & Next 4 Years

GaryCGibson - 02:46pm Jan 18, 2005 EDT (#148 of 284)
Matthew 3:10 "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

This post is just a small notation for an experience I had recently riding from New Mexico to Texas. I'd made it as far as Socorro and was going nine miles farther south to turn off on 70/138 to Roswell. I missed the turn, went a mile farther downwind, saw the sign going in the opposite direction, crossed the meridian on I-25 and immediately a stretch tie came loose and wrapped around the inside back wheel. I fixed it and rode on to discover in San Antonio New Mexico that it is actually 158 miles approx. to Roswell instead of the 70 miles I'd believed it was. I turned around again to ride back to the freeway to go south to Las Cruces instead. 4 spokes snapped on the inside of the freewheel...end of the bike journey suddenly. The back wheel looked like it had been run over by a car.

I hitchhiked to Socorro New Mexico, and late at night, being hungry and broke, thought I'd try MacDonalds trash dumpster for food to eat. Having worked at Burger King long ago I knew that fast food restaurants toss out perfectly good food when it's staging time is up. I looked for that bag and found it.

I ate a large hamburger patty and two french fry container fulls and walked to put up my tent some miles away. What a night! I cannot believe how quickly one can get food poisoning. Years ago I ate a too old can of spam and became quite nauseous and delerious in Houston while working at that Burger King. This time I must have vomited four quarts of material that had the nature of removing foul waste. Diarehha continued through the night (this is my food poisoning post). Then, about three am, after the copious emmission of bodily fluids and semi-solids was mostly done, the cold chills and headache and dizzyness began. It was quite a remarkable experience I hope not to do again. That was basically the only time I'd ever tried eating a non-boxed item from a trash container...it should be the last. Yet with the Bush administration around for another four years, its difficult to say.

Its so nice that they are spending 140 million on the inauguration, almost half as much as on tsunami relief. Its important to keep things in proper perspective regarding values.

I still believe that neo-Corporatism isn't much different that any other sort of authoritarianism such as Fidel's. Global Corporate and the Fawkers are too sides of a global coin that will pimp America to shape it's maximum profits. That's all that matters, perhaps the President will be rapsodic in addressing the wonder of the nation's future during his second or .43 mag administration.

GaryCGibson - 11:38am Jan 19, 2005 EDT (#210 of 284)
Matthew 3:10 "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

William F Buckley has had a long and distinguished career writing from the right, or perhaps as a classical liberal supporting essentially the values of the founders. Notably, some of the lofty ideas that he and Condi Rice too, have expressed in recent days, coincide with the second inauguration of President Bush...

Thinking Out Iraq by William F. Buckley

I enjoy stratospheric and politically inspirational writing of course, yet the main point of political writing must be purpose A company like Forbes may be a but kisser of the wealthy, and yet disserve democracy. It is possible to lose sight of the sky because of oppressive occlusions of power.

Mr. Buckley in analyzing the Iraq mission concluded that withdrawing from Iraq would be dishonorable, and yet he also decided to venture the opinion that the withthdrawl from Vietnam was also dishonorable. He surely should know that Richard Nixon expressed the contrary opinion, and that instead it was a 'peace with honor'. He could ask Henry Kissinger if he needs more proof.

Democracies work when individuals have real rights that aren't violated by oppressive international crooks at the U.N., by neo-Corporatist ad hoc political structures that repress free speech and support a trans-national political structure in the United States, and when individuals are not massified and commodified through broadcast media into a classlessness because of stupidity. That is, their psychological conditioning is more important than external, empirical political facts.

In this last election, in which the Democratic Party nominated and ran a gentlemen that professed at one time to being a war criminal, and an hysterical doctor from Vermont/the homo state, the American public essential presented the appearance of being of weak character in not insisting that a better, and fundamentally more financially sound, resolute, intelligent leader run for the office. They elected the greatest nepotistic beneficiary in U.S. history I would guess. Hillary Clinton would be a tight second place finisher in that race if she is elected one day. In a decaying democracy, in which a trans-national neo-Corporatist neo-authoritarian is increasing its power, those sorts of things happen. Active, live, fervantly inspired politicians don't run. They are brainwashed, and can't comprehend that trans-national neo-Corporatist power structures effectively subvert U.S. nationalism, pervasively.

Mr. Buckley's notion about Iraq was mistaken. The U.S. had a moral obligation in that it allowed Democide to continue while Saddam Hussein was in power and sanctions prevailed. Now the U.S. has no moral obligation to Iraq. It does have an obligation to provide some security for the Iraqi's that have worked with the U.S. toward creating a 'democracy' in Iraq.

Ms. Rice's opinion about Iraq seems prima facie correct-the U.S. will stay in Iraq until the Iraqi Government can provide its own security. Yet that is a long a twisted road perhaps, in expecting the Shia and Sunni to eixist within an elected way together. In Northern Ireland that wasn't so simple even between Prots and Caths, in Iraq there are many more lunatics, with no comprehension of democracy, and with many military explosives stockpiles. A more realistic Iraq policy may be required to more directly allow the U.S. to disengage with a shorter time paradigm.

The political situation in the United States does not seem good. The populace is incresingly brainwashed by Global Coporate media, the small cities become full of trans-national Corporate stores, and the political issues such as national energy and transport independence are simply degraded as would be intelligent, nationalist political writing. Each party (D & R) is a flip side of a trans-national coin.

Modern power corrupts from a distance, nihilating independence

2005 Inauguration-Bush Agenda

GaryCGibson - 11:42am Jan 21, 2005 EDT (#32 of 88)
Matthew 3:10 "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

I amsomewhat disappointed that the SF station decided to remake 'Battlestar Galactica' instead of producing an original of 'Alterwall Objectives' http://www.lulu.com/content/52396. Yet freedom sometimes means fullfilling Global Corporate objectives, and individualsocial reality may be supplanted by celebrety reality.

It does seem dubious that an American Global Corporate concept of 'freedom' will inspire many of the muslim world to revolt for democracy, when Globalism is antipathetic to liberty in the U.S.A. as people are degraded,pimped and replaced by illegal foreign workers, when the last armed militia of Boston will have his right to own a rifle and freely assemble to repulse the inavading Chinese Commando Army from Mexico taken away...yet President Bush will seek to bring reform and 'freedom' to Iraq.

Something must be done with Iraq,certainly, it is as confused as the state of liberated women divorced from thee traditional society that to readily supports wrong causes and is too easily exploited. Yet what is the proper role? Can the happy go lucky 'freedom' of U.S. borrowed prosperity provide clarity to the region?

The United States can perhaps afford some more bombs and lives, yet it is very far into foreign held debt and isn't likely to provide much in the way of largesse or bribes for the masses. Puiblicity and pr for the U.S. masses is best. Even social security for the young may be trimmed. The administration may want to get blood from the turnip to spend (thats it's style), and diverting youth contributions to the private sector might free up some dollars.

The real problem with social secuirty is that retired workers have a median income 10,000 dollars higher than working people. Sure the world war two generation deserves it, but the following don't. There needs to be a means test to the effect that social secuirty can be received only if it won't raise the retired person's income above 2/3rds that of working people. Presently social security has become like a Russian appanage Empire with succeeding generations getting a smaller piece of land each-as did the princes of Kievian Rus when they became too numerous.

...

GaryCGibson - 11:43am Jan 21, 2005 EDT (#33 of 88)
Matthew 3:10 "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

... Iraq's prospects for 'peace' are of course the main point of the second term of the administration, beside carpet bagging oil profits where possible and schilling for expanded OPEC power along the Asian littoral. Not since Angor Watt was a Phallic Cult Temple in its prime has an administration been so devoted to causes against its best interests, perhaps naively.

The first Arabian state began about 2000 BC in the highlands of Yemen, so the almanac reports for this brief commentary about interesting facts of the Middle East that the administration may want to consider for its second term.

Yemen of course claims Abraham as its founder, I seem to remember reading. Os Bin's family is also from Yemen originally.

Later on, in the first century, Axum http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/AXUM.HTM was founded by Arabs from the Yemen region in Ethiopia. It became the first Christian civilization in Africa and was the important Red Sea power until its demise in 1100. It was very influential in Yemen. The expansion of Islam cut off its ties with Byzantium.

Until the end of the Ottoman empire Iraq was subject to Sunni rule that was the official religion. The Sunnis were draconian and enslaved even even Christians for military service. After the Turks were done. the British moved in, and provided a paternalistic royal guidance until various aborted starts at Iraqi independence.

Saddam Hussein was a secularist Baathist that sought simple to use terror ala Stalin to create a secular state.

There is a vast, historical schism between Shiite and Sunni in the Middle East. The Shiia of course demand a ruler descended from Muhammed, historically. The Shi'a are also historically affiliated with Iran. Persians, Parthians and Sassanians have ruled Iraq or southern Iraq for much of its history. To change the political orientation in Iraq is to affect the region from Pakistan to Africa.

I haven't much time left for this outline.

One must wonder if the Kharjirites might been historical model for adaptation by Iraqis http://www.answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Vol1/9d.html.

Certainly the association of Sufism with Sunnism has had important consequences in the formation of terrorist cults and radical political movements, I should think. Is Al Zarqawi a Sufi, does Os Bin twirl about like a dervish sometimes when in need of inspiration?

Would the Almohad's dynastic structure be a goal for the Sunni terrorists http://www.bartleby.com/65/al/Almohads.html in Iraq? Does VP Cheney know or care that part of the Iranian reason to develop nuclear weapons is the 1980 Iraq attack upon it and the ensuing casualties?

Cortez liberated a vast portion of North America from the human sacrifice cult of the Aztec's in 1519, yet was the ensuing 'freedom' beneficial for North American people's?

The truly liberating step the administration could pursue would be to replace oil with solar and wind generated electricity for home use and electric power for cars and pov's. It would work against the expansion of Muslim oil influence around the Asian rim, that can buy allegiance of kneeling to Allah five times a day for a tank of gas.

Maybe Europeans have a prejudice against Kurdish State formation because Saladin was a Kurd. Yet a nagid-or charismatic leader, may be what some Iraqi's want to lead their country through the chaos ahead. Charismatic leaders are usually only go for-themselves-historically speaking, and they cannot implement long-lasting reform. King David, Solomon/Rehoboam and the breakdown of Israel was an early example.

Yes, vague talk about 'freedom' for Global Corporate profits is a nice thing, and lots of soma for the masses! Yet it is a troubled world, and the leader means well. Good luck, and balanced the budget while reducing the federal debt and staying out of ANWR in the second term!

GaryCGibson - 06:22pm Jan 21, 2005 EDT (#71 of 88)
Matthew 3:10 "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

More time for Persian history research could bring out more of the nation's current political psychology perhaps. I just recently had food poisoning, and partial airway blockage that still continues. Evidently aspirating vomited French fries can be a substantial airway difficulty. I am not that expert on the airway. Food is meant to go down-not up.

Now, if I knew I might be in a vomit producing environment, I'd eat foods like applesauce that could not become serious lumps in the nasal or lung regions. Perhaps doctors can rinse out such passages with water, yet I'd not stick my head in a bucket and breathe some upside down to try.

At any rate...Persia...

I believe that Persians ruled Southern Iraq basically for about a thousand years from Cyrus in maybe 549 bc through the Sassanid until the end of the Parthian Empire in 650 or so, when I'd guess they became Muslimized.

That’s a serious national history broken by Alexander the Great's military invasion of course, yet it was a time of immense cultural identity. The Persians were the Aryans of yore. The Medes and Persians were probably the invaders of the Indus civilization that established the caste system lasting until the present, sort of. Yet glory fades...

While the Umayyad people still ruled in Spain, the Abbasid established itself at Baghdad. The Shi'a schism arose. Between 700 and 1000 approx. Iraq has a somewhat more mixed history, yet in 1100 very approx. the Seljuk Turks invaded.

I believe the Turks and later the Mongols then again the ottoman empire ruled Persia right up until a Shah staged a coup in 1921 while the Brits had defeated the ottoman power in Arabia. The Turks had been Sunni's, and while Persia had been occupied, orientalized and such it was the Shi'a faith that had given the people a sense of national identity, such as they had.

I would imagine the Shi'a infrastructure had developed quite a loyal following amongst the legends of the people. Perhaps the nation would have evolved further political egalitarianism in the 20th century if it had been a kinder century...who knows.

The United States of course supported a revolutionary son of Shah later on perhaps snubbing the popular opinion. As the Iranians had already had half a millennium approx of oppressive foreign rule, perhaps that created antipathy toward another foreign power that sought to oppress them so they thought, and perhaps second rate their popular Shiism with foreign secularism.

When the United States lost in Vietnam in created lots of changes. In 1980 or so the Iranian revolution brought about the hostage taking at the U.S. embassy. In Libya Khaddafi had helped engineer the 72-oil embargo, which was the second major financial world shift of the century (or third economic revolution) with nationalization of the oil fields. He believed Muslims should retake Sicily and Spain.

When the United States supported Saddam Hussein in his 1980 war with Iran that caused millions of casualties, it must have enhanced Iranian distrust of the U.S. and perhaps Sunni too. Now VP Cheney with no thought of Iranian oil fields probably, is concerned about the Iranian nuclear threat. Proliferation of nukes is definitely I danger, yet its worth knowing why Iran might want nukes to help express their political 'freedom' from foreign 'tyranny'.

One may hope the forthcoming Iraq elections will find a popular Iraq Sunni-Shi'a democracy emerging, without anarchy too long or a renewed Sunni hostile posture to Iran's Shi'a perhaps supported by administration pro-oil sentiments. Life and history could be better.

A commentary on Habakkuk makes interesting reading.



http://www.art-arena.com/history.html

Gary C Gibson. - 06:42pm Jan 21, 2005 EDT (#72 of 88)
John 10:16 "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
“_______________________”


UTLAKE, I have another thought on the subject.

Of course I'm not a supporter of the young pioneer Stalinist brainwashing sort of education in America, and especially not at adult university level. Yet it it would be fine if more non-western history were taken by people that don't read much history anyway. The history of non-western violence and cruelty is remarkable. It is not as utopian as some seem to believe.

The Bible has solace for the believer.amidst a human history that demonstrates people are well accomplished at evil in many traditions.