Posted by voolavex in carbon emmissions, global warming, green, Pakistan, Politics, Politics & Religion, war.
Tags: Afghani, Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Copenhagen, greed, green, Nobel Door Prize, Nobel Prize, Obama, Paki, Pakistan, Sadam, Stockholm, Union Carbide, W, Woburn
Taking stock of Stockholm and Copenhagen in the last week has led me to some conclusions that may not sound very patriotic, but honesty should not be usurped by mislaid love of country. You can love your country without loving some of what is done in its name. The same goes for your neighbor.
Copenhagen. In order to speed greed you have to be able to use every tool you have to get there. Greed is a global goal. Or the spoils of greed. And why not – I think we have reached a tipping point (thank you MG) where all the fingers in all the dikes are not going to make enough of an impact to save much of anything. Sounds hopeless but it may be more truth than anyone can bear to utter. I was green in the 70’s – what fun being laughed out of conversations about destroying the planet and the small steps that could be taken to slow this down. And if that wasn’t annoying enough – being green was expensive (as it is now) and impeded by the newest in living better through chemistry. No one cared about Three Mile Island or Union Carbide or the Woburn Cancer Cluster. A few (hundred thousand) souls were a small sacrifice for Big Biz to absorb in the pursuit of money. Collateral damage without even a war. That was 40 years ago.
We have made huge strides in our pursuit of the Money and the Brand. As Pogo said “We have met the enemy and he is us”. He is. No one wants to lower emissions by charter. If they sign up then they have to be responsible and we cannot have that and corporate sovereignty. Copenhagen was not quite what we had in mind. So while the planet slimes and slurps and melts and freezes and generally goes the way of a Styrofoam cup – there is good news too – we have found water on the Moon. Get ready to play the collectible, limited edition of Lunar Monopoly.
Stockholm. White tie is never unpleasant to see. And President Obama looked wonderful and a little confused in his as he accepted the Nobel Prize.
But the point is this: Any president in 2009 has inherited 8 years of a war without a point. Obama is doing what Sadam-obsessed W should have continued to do when he deployed Oct 7 2001. Instead he drained our country of soldier’s blood to get an imaginary enemy. We are now back to square one/Oct 7 2001 when the target was Al Qaeda in Afghani/Pakistan. He is merely doing – and not something I like either – what W should have done and won.
I am not sure Mr. Obama should have won the Nobel Peace Prize. I doubt he thinks so either. And as he sends troops into no-win Afghanistan it is an even harder accolade to accept or deserve. Ah well. Unfortunately they do not yet have a Nobel War Prize. Or a Nobel Door Prize.
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Posted by voolavex in common sense, Uncategorized.
Tags: Bush, children, common sense, Dalai Lama, gay marriage, Israel, money, Pakistan, police, Scalia, sex
I am adopting Common Sense as my party of choice. I am disgusted with the donkey and the elephant. The Dems are behaving very badly and the GOP has never appealed to me. The following is what I think – the short version.
If it seems wrong or not a good idea then don’t do it. If you have a strong feeling about people being free and those who want others to be free too – then go for it. Embrace integrity. If you have none consider getting some. Don’t blow people up. Don’t brainwash children. Don’t use them for sex. Don’t use racial slurs. Give up lying. Women and children are not chattel. Pets are not chattel. Don’t steal unless it is to feed your children. Nothing else is important enough to steal. Your children do not require beer, Jack Daniels or snack cakes either. Other people have opinions and if they don’t impact your world negatively let them be. All slavery – mental or physical is wrong. The police make mistakes. So do the courts. We still need both. Not all countries have to be homelands for other people who want them. And you should not invent homelands. Pakistan was non-existent before 1947. It didn’t turn out well either. Israel was Israel before Christianity and Islam even came along. Let it belong to all faiths who love it but let the Jews do the statecraft. . Jerusalem is a Holy city – no one should be kept out. Not everyone agrees with the Jihad approach. Leave Jesus out of it – he died for people’s sins once – don’t force him to relive the moment forever. God may have moved on to other projects. Don’t think he will bail us out every time. If you don’t believe in God – why should it bother anyone who does? Black people get treated poorly in this country. This is not a myth. China should not have been awarded the Olympics because they are a repressive regime. But we should not do business with them and then expect them to be like us. If we don’t like them – and no one else seems to, then we shouldn’t go there. When in doubt – ask what the Dalai Lama would do and do it. Try to age gracefully. If not, choose your plastic surgeon as though your future depended on he or she alone. Babies after 40 may not be the best idea in the world. Get a pet. When this planet has been used and discarded like a Styrofoam cup – you will not get a free trip to Mars. If you live on Earth then everyday is Earth Day. You do not need that huge car. If airline travel is going to resemble subway riding then it should be a lot cheaper. Read more books. Get a real life and reduce your need for tabloid news. Money can buy happiness and better health. Sad, but true. If you want political power you will need to toss some bones to the public. Health care, better distribution of assets, jobs and taxes that make sense. Donald Trump should not get any loopholes. Avoid Wal-Mart. George Bush was not the right man for the White House. Even the GOP knows it. Sex education works better than abstinence. If abstinence was a solution we would see a drop in sex-related matters. Everyone who wants to be married should be entitled to do so. Who they choose is their own business. The media makes things up for profit. English does sound better with a British accent. Rethink Justice Antonin Scalia – he blows hard but some of what he blows makes sense. Not every mishap is a cause of action.
Common sense. No purchase required. Rated for all ages. Pass it on.
“Without relying on religion, we look to common sense, common experience and the findings of science for understanding…”
Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama
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Posted by voolavex in Uncategorized.
Tags: assassination, Benazir, Bhutto, Jinnah, murder, Pakistan, Rawalpindi
I have been watching the events unfold in Pakistan and it makes me wish I were in Spain or even better, Mars.
I find the death of Benazir Bhutto disgusting. I find the Pakistani government’s “take-out menu” causes of death an insult to her life. I think it hardly matters at this point what made her dead. She is out of the race. The revolving theories of the murder only make Pakistan look more confused than it already seems to be. I think Benazir was a sincere idealist and probably the best hope for Pakistan at this point – but her violent death was in the cards – no matter how they try to spin the cause – she was marked the day she set foot on back on Pakistani soil. The culpable killers have only strenghthened her cause and made her a martyr – don’t cry for her, Rawalpindi, – she has not left you.
As it happens I had just finished a well-written, but tedious biography of Jinnah by Stanley Wolpert when this assassination occurred. Ms. Bhutto’s wish for democracy and freedom in that country , bravehearted and genuine they may have been, are about as realistic as Muhammad Jinnah’s when he all but forced the British and the Indians into creating Pakistan in 1947. Religious constituencies are not a natural breeding ground for democracy. It is not written in the holy books nor has it ever been practiced successfully in the world to my knowledge. Fundamentalists are driven by something so visceral and unstoppable that the thought of relinquishing Godly control to the ideas of free choice and free will simply doesn’t seem to coincide. As Jinnah got older and more frustrated with first the Raj, then Gandhi and Nehru – his demands for a separate Islamic “democracy” called Pakistan became more and more shrill and desperate. He had spent his entire adult life as an Anglophilic barrister – he was admitted to the Inns of Court in 1893, passed the bar, joined Lincoln’s Inn and headed back to Bombay to practice the Indian adaptation of English Common Law. He espoused the desire for a free India for some time but gradually found himself, after some years, not in the cause of Indian freedom to swaraj (self rule) – but to some misbegotten idea that Muslims in India would be nothing more than second class citizens if they joined the Quit India movement – thus setting the stage for yet another Muslim homeland (how many are there now?). With his elegant dress and speech it is hard to imagine Mr. Jinnah being treated as a second class anything. Yet, he envisioned a place where Muslims would live in freedom and democracy and where the practice of any religion would be allowed. I think the Muslims of India should have reconsidered his plan. From the heartbreaking day of Partition until this very moment – Pakistan has been a nation without a nationality. I have no doubt, nonetheless, that Mr. Jinnah’s vision inspired Ms. Bhutto.
There will more death and more rhetoric. Bush will talk himself into his usual smirking, imbecilic platitudes and mention the war on terror as often as he can. The 2008 candidates will swarm on it like rats at a landfill and for the foreseeable future, Pakistan will be the center of the world. Keep watching. It’s between Afghanistan and India.
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Voolavex 