Wednesday, January 17, 2007





OVERFLOATER doesn't want to give credibility to all those Nostradamus-believing people who have been saying that the world will end in 2012. But damn it all, if the news hasn't been warming us up for a mega-tragedy then I don't know what. Of course there have always been those who have felt that the world was coming to an end. I can rightly see the perspective of those who lived through World War II Europe, to those who were Jewish in Poland, those who tried to resist the Nazi occupiers along the spearhead of their invasion in the Soviet Union, hell even the ad exec who was trying to get down from the World Trade Center.

Maybe it is because we live in a world where technology is so widespread that someone can record an act of terrorism - or an act of God, such as an earthquake or tsunami - with their cell phone. And then the media can take that cell phone, download its images and broadcast them to the world. So we watch entranced in our living rooms half a world away while the ocean takes buses, cars, children and adults back into the depths.


This morning it was announced that 34,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in 2006. The United States has lost 3,000 soldiers in 4 years. The cold analysis of that 10:1 ratio in casualties satisfies the unfeeling economical minds in our leadership echelon. Of course now we see the dismissal of the assistants in trying to salvage what could become the greatest lame-duck presidency of all-time. Circumstances arising from terrorism (which is not a new threat) have caused the greatest economic engine of the time to burn out its clutch and leave the transmission by the side of some desert road. My personal take on this is that the Euro was really starting to outperform the dollar and soon it would hold the power to get that second-largest oil reserve in the world under Iraq pumping again. Faced with the escalating sales of SUV's and the increasing consumption of gasoline in the States, our leaders saw an opportunity to take the oil fields by force instead of economic persuasion. A regime in power that was merely a shelled-out house that could be easily toppled, cook up a story about the possibility of WMD and sell it to the American people who want the good times to keep rolling. In turn, you develop a target for the terrorist networks away from mainland America. The rationale: let them try to attack the Army - which will only remain there in time to protect the oil fields while the country collapses into civil war - who are trained for such combat. Too bad for the poor Army fellows who are there simply to be attacked in a remote, foreign country - the leaders say - but we still got a 10:1 ratio.

Iraq is not Vietnam. The reasons are completely different. Today's war is an energy grab, Vietnam was a containment maneuver- an effort to keep poor Asian countries from resorting to communism, which could result in what the American leaders at the time referred to as a 'domino effect'. Then the Soviets would have the majority of control in Asia, making democratic allies such as India very nervous. No such circumstances this time. We have isolated ourselves from the world with our near-unilateral action of invading a country. Just say it, "...invading a country."

Some food for thought. I know getting in political conversations can sometimes be problematic. Especially at a bar, where such conversations can go wrong quickly.

Now for the bright side, let's enjoy professional sports while we can still afford to.

7 comments:

Mookie McFly said...

I've told you this already but you still want to reach and grab at conspiracies. Clinton attacked Iraq too over a jizz stain so it's a little more complicated than the strength of the dollar...which I won't dismiss offhand. But if the Euro is so strong than why has hald of Europe either refused it or abandoned it. Me thinks it's a little over valued but that's just me. Plus that's not my main problem with this post.

Once again you ignore the Clinton factor. This was not some sort of "Wag the Dog" like big bad William performed. This was finishing unfinished business. If you think Saddam didn't have WMD you are delusional. The only thing we have done wrong during this war is wait too long. We waited too long for permission even though permission was granted when Saddam denied weapons inspectors. He borke the rules and the impotent UN didn't respond because they were making out on the whole thing with the fuel for food/weapons program. You cannot deny that they were yet you choos to ignore it to grab at straws...actually straws are too thick...more like grabbing at air. There isn't some larger conspiracy here...Saddam has been our enemy since he chose to pick sides in the Sunni/Shiite strife. If he had remained a figure head instead of a dictator, we would be alright. Despite Bush's inadequacies (I admit he isn't a great president...but he's better than Clinton or Carter)I think he was on the right path.

Would electric cars solve the energy crisis. You know they wouldn't nor is the war as much about oil as it is about the larger world economy. With Iraq in a strategic place of vulnerability, we cannot leave with Iran and others waiting in the wings. Bush should have beefed up the military two years ago and taken the gloves off...The soldiers should be able to shoot before being shot. Stop trying them for murder. Imagine if we had to fight WWII that way? Or WWII? Stop listening to the hippies is what I say...let the military do what it does and we probably wouldn't have to send more troops. The war is less about oil to me than it should be about flexing our collective muscles and telling the rest of the world, "stay in line or we will fuck you in the ass."

Arnie Shaw said...

Overfloater...why dont you make me a contibuting writer? I will post articles regularly enough so you dont have to keep it up all on your own.

I promise I will use spell check for your blog.

Arnie Shaw said...

Now, back to this Armageddon you are discussing. That 36,000 people is skewed. Do you really think that if only 36,000 people died this administration would have said that number. They would have said 10,000 people if it were only 36,000. But the real number is probably around 150,000.

Can you imagine how many lives are displaced if it were even 36,000 people that have died in Iraq. We lost 3,000 on 9/11 and it blazed a scar right through our country.

War is never the answer, period.

You may be right Overfloater, if you read Revelation it looks very much like what was predicted: "Nation against Nation, earthquakes, natural disasters". The next sequence is a huge battle where a savior on a white horse comes to save the day and Jesus comes down on a cloud and takes the true believers.

Mookie must be totally right wing if he thinks Bush is better than Clinton. Clinton left the presidency with a 10B surplus and met with every leader in the world. He was very personable.

Bush has us in a 300B deficit and won't meet with any of these other leaders bc he is a chicken shit.

A 38 year old Kennedy met with the Soviets who publicly said he was a whiny rich kid who will be eaten up for lunch. Kennedy was noticably scared and not prepared to handle these older, more experienced foreign leaders. But he had the gumshen to meet with them, unlike Bush. And when it came down to 10 minutes before a true Armegeddon during the Cuban Missle crises, Kennedy was able to use words, not lives, to end a possible war.

I have to say, I am not proud to be an American these days. Our country is involved in shit that we should not be involved in. We are rich enough as a country and smart enough that we owe to the world to be PROTECTORS of what is right and good. But we have abused our power.

If I were president I would be meeting the president of Iran, S. Korea, and any other whacked out country as much as possible to try to move forward in a peaceful fashion.

This war is a waste of lives.

Figgythemick said...

Mookster, Totally see your points. But I think this is a 'hide in plain sight' type of thing.

The reason that some countries don't want to use the Euro is because they are nowehere near as prosperous as England, France and Germany. Italy, Greece, etc have trouble keeping up with the cost of things in their countries with the highly-valuable Euro. They are dragged in the way Wyoming is dragged into paying federal taxes to go to disaster relief for the South. In Wyoming you can get a lot more with a dollar than Jersey but the opportunities are far more limited and scarce. Same thing with the smaller countries, France germany and England are all major industrial producers, Italy and Greece are not.

Saddam didn't have shit, wasn't going to do shit and wasn't worth a shit. Definitely not 3,000 US soldiers.

I would like to make you guys all Contributing writers but I have to figure out how to do it first.

Good shit.

Mookie McFly said...

War what is it good for? Absolutely nothing? Say it again.

Settle down...Here is the real problem that will never be addressed. Our forefathers would have addressed it. We will not. Lets fight over whether there is merit in this war? I don't remember saying this is the war we should be fighting...? Did I? I just said it is the war that we are fighting. Clinton could have killed Bin Laden. Should he have spoken with Russia about it first? Wow, Clinton was a diplomat? He must have made the world love us?

Sorry Miss Luinski I am for real.

No, this isn't the war I would've have chose. That's not the point, victory is. When you have to defeat a a proported victim that hates you and a culture that resents you, where do you fight this new war? I'm not cracking wise...Do you want to remain free? If so don't think the Kennedy's will rescue us. Remember that we have to remain on the faith that our fellow Americans are not asking exactly what their country can do for them but what they can do for their country. Count the body bags if you will...their are a whole bunch of Americans who have already died for this cause.

Regardless of whether YOU think it is right.

Smell Ya,

Happy B-day Mrs. Head and I hope you bitches are having a good f-ball Sunday.

OF, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Mookie McFly said...

Hey OF, it looks like you have figured out the set up for other bloggers...got you email. I didn't see your email w/#, etc. until I came into work this morning. I'll send you my other email address.

Anonymous said...

I missed out on this! You fucking bastards. If anyone reads this, we have to finish the job in Iraq and while war is not the answer it's what's happening. Meeting some of these assholes won't accomplish anything. Come on, Chavez is a fucking lunatic. Oh shit, I'm too bored to go on, I missed this one.