I think Christopher Hitchens is a breath of fresh air in a world consumed with Religion and confused thought (not to confuse the two, I refer to them here only as separate elements). I think Hitchens is a clear, precise and logical thinker. We need more of that around the world.
However, his professing the stupidity of religious thought, as magical thinking, etc., has given him a great following of religious people who either hate him, or pray for him, but at least expect him to most likely, one day expire and burn in Hell for all eternity.
In that vein, if you are one of those who really do not like him and wouldn't mind vicariously watching him go through a miserable experience, I offer you this:
The Water-boarding of Christopher Hitchens.
Now that you have that in your mind, I'm not sure if you can empathize the miserable, horrible experience of this form of "benign" (?) torture. A form of torture the US has historically denounced for American citizens and in recent times has indicated as an acceptable form of torture for us to engage in.
Anyone who has ever had the experience of nearly drowning, would appreciate how horrible this tactic is, but you would also have to accept that this is even worse, because of how they go about it and having an absorbent towel placed on your face.
I agree we should take somewhat extraordinary measures in tracking down terrorists. But we at least need to understand what that means and therefore, be and feel responsible. Is ignorance an excuse?
Friday, August 13, 2010
Planets Align for the Perseid Meteor Shower
If you've never seen a meteor shower, you should check this out, because its too much fun, not to mention, if you have kids, they love it. Of course, you'd have to get them up to see it.
"The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so. When they leave, following the sun below the horizon, you should stay, because that is when the Perseid meteor shower begins. From 10 pm until dawn, meteors will flit across the starry sky in a display that's even more exciting than a planetary get-together."
From NASA on Perseid Meteor Shower
"The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so. When they leave, following the sun below the horizon, you should stay, because that is when the Perseid meteor shower begins. From 10 pm until dawn, meteors will flit across the starry sky in a display that's even more exciting than a planetary get-together."
From NASA on Perseid Meteor Shower
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Are Mothers a wonderful thing?
So you think mother's are a wonderful thing, do you?
Obviously, you've not met my Mom. A lot of people like to say that. But, for few of them is it true.
With my mom, it is, indeed, the truth. To quote Kathy Griffin, "I think my mother gave me a mental illness an hour ago."
Yes, she was wonderful in having me (she was pregnant like five times and got married after each time except the first, but only because she lost it). So, yeah, I'm glad she didn't abort me or end up aborting me, be it by choice or accident or act of her very confused God.
Then there were the early years, yeah, she was pretty cool, a fun mom (psycho, but fun). Actually what I thought then was fun I realize now was her being a bit insane. I didn't see her inconsistencies, I thought she was just like me, turn on a dime and do something for no apparent reason.
Later years? Yeah, she stood up for me. Like the time I blew up my Jr High. No one got hurt, and I was trying to be careful. When I told her on the phone when I got home, like the Vice Principle told me to do, she laughed.
She used to drive my older brother and sister around, their band members and all their equipment. She hosted band practice every Thursday night 7:30PM to 10PM (curfew). Everyone in the neighborhood used to sit on their front steps and listen in the summer time. There were always hot teen girls hanging around on band night and others times, I was about 12. The band was The Barons, but there were two other bands in town named that, so they had my sister join them (my brother was 19, my sister 14, she played the organ). So they added her name to the band's name and off they went.
They even one the battle of the bands at Ft. Lewis Army Base. They rented an old church in Lacey, near Olympia, the state capital. Weekend I'd watch a little tiny b/w TV and sell drinks and stuff from a closet with a French door. But we didn't have a license so the city told us to stop, that funded the rental and the gas money so we had to stop. But it was cool while it lasted and it was all there was for teens to do in Lacey back then on a weekend night.
But then the down side. Not to mention her four divorces. The obvious trouble with her husbands, both during and after marriage. The degree of vitriol she held for her last husband, whom she married like five times total for some reason. He always seemed to hate me. Except when he liked having me around. Which wasn't often. They continued to live together until one summer, in 2002, when they had the week from hell.
Long story short, they now live opposite sides of the US. My sister moved to Dallas twenty-five years ago. I asked her husband one day a few years after they moved, jokingly, "So, did you guys move far enough from Mom?" His answer: "there is no where far enough. The moon is too close."
My Grandmother. My Mom's Mom. She told me once, that she often wondered, did someone swap her daughter out in the delivery room? I could believe it. My Aunt, my mom's older sister, and my Grandmother were far more similar than my Mom and they ever were. So what happened?
A few deaths in the family, misusing drugs, not achieving her fantasized potential, things like that probably; possibly, some mental illness on top of it all, and a lifetime of ADD probably too.
So, what's the point of all this? Bad things happen in life. We don't all reach our potential, "potential". Life can be difficult. The Buddhists say, life is suffering, its all about how to make it through. Sometimes life really isn't worth living. So, what do we do about it? We survive. We continue on. We do our best. We enjoy the little things.
So, pay attention. Notice the positive things; dwell on the good, not the bad. Sometimes, smile, even though you don't want to. Because, its a fact, if you smile on the inside, you smile on the outside. And if you smile on the outside, it makes you smile (at least a little bit) on the inside. See? If you have bad times, you focus on them, so don't focus on them. Focus on the little good you can fine, lower your expectations, in order to make it through. But always strive, work toward a better life.
Think! Make REASONABLE plans to better your life, achievable plans. Be good to people, it acts like a magnet, and good will come back to you. That's not farfetched, or New Age thinking, its rational, reality. Smack someone every time you walk by, they will fear and hate you, flinch when you approach; but smile, say nice things, help someone, and they will be far more predisposed to feel and be that way toward you. Do it on a larger scale, and well, you can see the perspective.
Above all, hang in there, survive, and smile.
Obviously, you've not met my Mom. A lot of people like to say that. But, for few of them is it true.
With my mom, it is, indeed, the truth. To quote Kathy Griffin, "I think my mother gave me a mental illness an hour ago."
Yes, she was wonderful in having me (she was pregnant like five times and got married after each time except the first, but only because she lost it). So, yeah, I'm glad she didn't abort me or end up aborting me, be it by choice or accident or act of her very confused God.
Then there were the early years, yeah, she was pretty cool, a fun mom (psycho, but fun). Actually what I thought then was fun I realize now was her being a bit insane. I didn't see her inconsistencies, I thought she was just like me, turn on a dime and do something for no apparent reason.
Later years? Yeah, she stood up for me. Like the time I blew up my Jr High. No one got hurt, and I was trying to be careful. When I told her on the phone when I got home, like the Vice Principle told me to do, she laughed.
She used to drive my older brother and sister around, their band members and all their equipment. She hosted band practice every Thursday night 7:30PM to 10PM (curfew). Everyone in the neighborhood used to sit on their front steps and listen in the summer time. There were always hot teen girls hanging around on band night and others times, I was about 12. The band was The Barons, but there were two other bands in town named that, so they had my sister join them (my brother was 19, my sister 14, she played the organ). So they added her name to the band's name and off they went.
They even one the battle of the bands at Ft. Lewis Army Base. They rented an old church in Lacey, near Olympia, the state capital. Weekend I'd watch a little tiny b/w TV and sell drinks and stuff from a closet with a French door. But we didn't have a license so the city told us to stop, that funded the rental and the gas money so we had to stop. But it was cool while it lasted and it was all there was for teens to do in Lacey back then on a weekend night.
But then the down side. Not to mention her four divorces. The obvious trouble with her husbands, both during and after marriage. The degree of vitriol she held for her last husband, whom she married like five times total for some reason. He always seemed to hate me. Except when he liked having me around. Which wasn't often. They continued to live together until one summer, in 2002, when they had the week from hell.
Long story short, they now live opposite sides of the US. My sister moved to Dallas twenty-five years ago. I asked her husband one day a few years after they moved, jokingly, "So, did you guys move far enough from Mom?" His answer: "there is no where far enough. The moon is too close."
My Grandmother. My Mom's Mom. She told me once, that she often wondered, did someone swap her daughter out in the delivery room? I could believe it. My Aunt, my mom's older sister, and my Grandmother were far more similar than my Mom and they ever were. So what happened?
A few deaths in the family, misusing drugs, not achieving her fantasized potential, things like that probably; possibly, some mental illness on top of it all, and a lifetime of ADD probably too.
So, what's the point of all this? Bad things happen in life. We don't all reach our potential, "potential". Life can be difficult. The Buddhists say, life is suffering, its all about how to make it through. Sometimes life really isn't worth living. So, what do we do about it? We survive. We continue on. We do our best. We enjoy the little things.
So, pay attention. Notice the positive things; dwell on the good, not the bad. Sometimes, smile, even though you don't want to. Because, its a fact, if you smile on the inside, you smile on the outside. And if you smile on the outside, it makes you smile (at least a little bit) on the inside. See? If you have bad times, you focus on them, so don't focus on them. Focus on the little good you can fine, lower your expectations, in order to make it through. But always strive, work toward a better life.
Think! Make REASONABLE plans to better your life, achievable plans. Be good to people, it acts like a magnet, and good will come back to you. That's not farfetched, or New Age thinking, its rational, reality. Smack someone every time you walk by, they will fear and hate you, flinch when you approach; but smile, say nice things, help someone, and they will be far more predisposed to feel and be that way toward you. Do it on a larger scale, and well, you can see the perspective.
Above all, hang in there, survive, and smile.
I have a defective brain. However....
I have a defective brain.
I've nearly always known about it. Growing up, I never matched up to the other kids. I couldn't fathom math; oh sure, addition, subtraction, multiplication, but division started confusing me early. But when we hit fractions, fractional division, I lost it.
It was about 5th grade I started to realize, I really don't think like other kids. My grades showed it too. But it also showed what I was good at: reading, comprehension, writing. Comprehension, took a while. Once I got into college, I started being told by many people, that I had a talent for writing; that my writings were well drawn, or entertaining. I didn't believe them at first. But when I started hearing it from my Instructors and Professors, I started to believe.
All thought K-12, especially High School, I thought about being a writer. But I couldn't, there were too many mechanics to it, too many rules and I was never very good at rules, or boundaries. I was always over-reaching, over extending, trying to see what was over the next hill. So I knew I could never be a writer. I knew I could probably not be a lot of things, like a brain surgeon, or a physicist. But writer, was going to be out of the question, too.
When got to a university, something I never thought would happen. If I compared my brain to that of my old main Professor at Western Washington University's Psychology Department, Dr. Rod Rees, I saw similarities. But, when I think of him, or my old instructor in the Theater department, Perry Mills, it humbles me.
Dr. Rees I believe, had brain functions and mental processes more like mine, but way down the road from me. He was a great guiding light to me; and my girlfriend at the time, as we were a special couple in the Psychology Department from what I heard (I'd love to know how Dr. Rees' caring nurturing of us, has directed her life since those days). Dr. Rees was part of a "think tank" at Brown University in the '60s. When the student body representatives were looking to affect change, they went to Dr. Rees' team and said, "Here's the situation, what do we do?" Rees and his team analyzed the data, and came back with, "Take over the University, shut it down, take over the administration building." And the rest is history.
Perry Mills, was my guide through the Theatrical realm after I decided to also acquire a minor in Creative Writing, in screenwriting as it turned out, along with fiction and play writing.
Perry has a command of language and historical information unsurpassed in anyone I have ever met; he could see how things tie together and deliver it in an entertaining or at times, in an overwhelming way. Presented in his grand booming voice with his gregarious, animated and overplayed mannerisms, he could whittle you to the quick, or humble you with a word; but he was always a joy to be around. Women loved him, even though sometimes women wanted to hate him. But they simply couldn't, even through his slightly (strike that, somewhat) chauvinist tendencies.
I asked a secretary at the PAC at WWU after he walked away having cheerily ranted about some male / female dichotomy, "How does he get away with that? I could never get away with saying some of the things he says." She was laughing, as was another woman behind the counter that she worked with. She thought about it and said: "How can you not let him get away with it? He's Perry. You want to hate him sometimes, but you just can't."
Nice. I wish I could have gleamed that technique off of him, but he is unique. Part of the issue was, he was usually right and he had a brain the size of a small planet.
The only man I've seen who comes close to him in a long time, is Christopher Hitchens. I hadn't realized it but I think that is wherein lay my fascination with him; in that, to me, he feels quite familiar. I feel that in some way, I understand him.
Now, I had realized as a child that I couldn't think as others do. But, I learned to hide it, to work around it. Since I knew I couldn't conjure up facts like others could; that I could not draw down from the air, esoteric permutations in algebraic notation, or dated facts from history, I wanted to give up. See, I have trouble with recall, but not, with recognition. I cannot call at will previously learned, studied, information. Not immediately, not in the time it takes for test taking in a classroom. Sometimes I can, but I do better on other kinds of testing. I can however, build massive concepts from scratch, at a whim, build something impressive from nothing.
I was horrible at math. It was a strange relationship, I love geometry, but I was really bad at it. On the other hand, I could spin words and concepts, at will; I could build constructs of metaphor and logic with a fair amount of ease. I began to notice that I could do things most others in my classes couldn't do; though I couldn't do most of what was required of us.
And I realized, I had something few had. I knew I could make that work, but how?
And so, in the end, I have always tried to do what I can in life, to work with how my brain works. I realized I'm not great at recalling things quickly, but I'm very good at recognizing them and creating something from nothing. It has always been easy for me to turn a phrase, or conjure a joke; especially when my life depended on it. One has to find what one can do well in life, and profit from it. And not simply bow to the will of the masses, authority, the majority, or the populace.
Remember the maxim: "As the size of a mob increases proportionally, the intellect of it decreases exponentially." Or something like that. You see, I'm not that great at recalling things like that. But I love the internet. Its my extra brain. Use it well, Grasshopper.
So, if you're creative, create. Don't be forced into what "they" want, what "they" expect, or want to expect of you. Schools are mostly designed to kick out a cookie cutter version of people, rather than take the time, or have the time, or the money, to develop people that are good for the world.
Be yourself. Its good to learn to work with the system, but you have to be true to yourself, too. Otherwise, you are fated to always be in the shadow of the current Zeitgeist of your community, your nation, or the world; something that is not good for you, or the rest.
But remember too, that society by its nature, is designed to crave, to build, raise, push to the front or the top, leaders, people to follow, to worship. And then, once they have what the so much desire, the tear them down, destroy them, kill them.
Its just what we do.
I do have a defective brain. However....
...we actually all have defective brains.
I've nearly always known about it. Growing up, I never matched up to the other kids. I couldn't fathom math; oh sure, addition, subtraction, multiplication, but division started confusing me early. But when we hit fractions, fractional division, I lost it.
It was about 5th grade I started to realize, I really don't think like other kids. My grades showed it too. But it also showed what I was good at: reading, comprehension, writing. Comprehension, took a while. Once I got into college, I started being told by many people, that I had a talent for writing; that my writings were well drawn, or entertaining. I didn't believe them at first. But when I started hearing it from my Instructors and Professors, I started to believe.
All thought K-12, especially High School, I thought about being a writer. But I couldn't, there were too many mechanics to it, too many rules and I was never very good at rules, or boundaries. I was always over-reaching, over extending, trying to see what was over the next hill. So I knew I could never be a writer. I knew I could probably not be a lot of things, like a brain surgeon, or a physicist. But writer, was going to be out of the question, too.
When got to a university, something I never thought would happen. If I compared my brain to that of my old main Professor at Western Washington University's Psychology Department, Dr. Rod Rees, I saw similarities. But, when I think of him, or my old instructor in the Theater department, Perry Mills, it humbles me.
Dr. Rees I believe, had brain functions and mental processes more like mine, but way down the road from me. He was a great guiding light to me; and my girlfriend at the time, as we were a special couple in the Psychology Department from what I heard (I'd love to know how Dr. Rees' caring nurturing of us, has directed her life since those days). Dr. Rees was part of a "think tank" at Brown University in the '60s. When the student body representatives were looking to affect change, they went to Dr. Rees' team and said, "Here's the situation, what do we do?" Rees and his team analyzed the data, and came back with, "Take over the University, shut it down, take over the administration building." And the rest is history.
Perry Mills, was my guide through the Theatrical realm after I decided to also acquire a minor in Creative Writing, in screenwriting as it turned out, along with fiction and play writing.
Perry has a command of language and historical information unsurpassed in anyone I have ever met; he could see how things tie together and deliver it in an entertaining or at times, in an overwhelming way. Presented in his grand booming voice with his gregarious, animated and overplayed mannerisms, he could whittle you to the quick, or humble you with a word; but he was always a joy to be around. Women loved him, even though sometimes women wanted to hate him. But they simply couldn't, even through his slightly (strike that, somewhat) chauvinist tendencies.
I asked a secretary at the PAC at WWU after he walked away having cheerily ranted about some male / female dichotomy, "How does he get away with that? I could never get away with saying some of the things he says." She was laughing, as was another woman behind the counter that she worked with. She thought about it and said: "How can you not let him get away with it? He's Perry. You want to hate him sometimes, but you just can't."
Nice. I wish I could have gleamed that technique off of him, but he is unique. Part of the issue was, he was usually right and he had a brain the size of a small planet.
The only man I've seen who comes close to him in a long time, is Christopher Hitchens. I hadn't realized it but I think that is wherein lay my fascination with him; in that, to me, he feels quite familiar. I feel that in some way, I understand him.
Now, I had realized as a child that I couldn't think as others do. But, I learned to hide it, to work around it. Since I knew I couldn't conjure up facts like others could; that I could not draw down from the air, esoteric permutations in algebraic notation, or dated facts from history, I wanted to give up. See, I have trouble with recall, but not, with recognition. I cannot call at will previously learned, studied, information. Not immediately, not in the time it takes for test taking in a classroom. Sometimes I can, but I do better on other kinds of testing. I can however, build massive concepts from scratch, at a whim, build something impressive from nothing.
I was horrible at math. It was a strange relationship, I love geometry, but I was really bad at it. On the other hand, I could spin words and concepts, at will; I could build constructs of metaphor and logic with a fair amount of ease. I began to notice that I could do things most others in my classes couldn't do; though I couldn't do most of what was required of us.
And I realized, I had something few had. I knew I could make that work, but how?
And so, in the end, I have always tried to do what I can in life, to work with how my brain works. I realized I'm not great at recalling things quickly, but I'm very good at recognizing them and creating something from nothing. It has always been easy for me to turn a phrase, or conjure a joke; especially when my life depended on it. One has to find what one can do well in life, and profit from it. And not simply bow to the will of the masses, authority, the majority, or the populace.
Remember the maxim: "As the size of a mob increases proportionally, the intellect of it decreases exponentially." Or something like that. You see, I'm not that great at recalling things like that. But I love the internet. Its my extra brain. Use it well, Grasshopper.
So, if you're creative, create. Don't be forced into what "they" want, what "they" expect, or want to expect of you. Schools are mostly designed to kick out a cookie cutter version of people, rather than take the time, or have the time, or the money, to develop people that are good for the world.
Be yourself. Its good to learn to work with the system, but you have to be true to yourself, too. Otherwise, you are fated to always be in the shadow of the current Zeitgeist of your community, your nation, or the world; something that is not good for you, or the rest.
But remember too, that society by its nature, is designed to crave, to build, raise, push to the front or the top, leaders, people to follow, to worship. And then, once they have what the so much desire, the tear them down, destroy them, kill them.
Its just what we do.
I do have a defective brain. However....
...we actually all have defective brains.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Got a cold? Schvatsky. What is it?
Schvotsky. What is it?
It is an old country remedy for a cold:
Boil whiskey with bacon bits in it, lemon slices, honey and cayenne.
Blend to desired strength, spicier the better.
NO WATER! :)
Drink.
You sweat, you numb out, you drink as many as required.
Your illness begins to not bother you so much.
First time I had it I was sick with a flu or cold or something at 11.
My had grandfather stopped by and told my mom, his daughter, "make him schvotsky!" (shhhh vot ski)
I'm not sure of the spelling, I've never found it referenced anywhere and Grandpa is dead these past many years. What a great loss to the local diesel engineering industry.
If he said it, my mom did was she was told. I knew as a child, that this was a great thing. See, that's how I got my pellet gun. He had said, "What do you want
for your birthday, today?"
I said, (looking tentatively at my mom and her face showing a don't do it look):
"I want a BB gun"
We went to the store, I got a gun. My mom tried to argue once on that trip.
He said something to her and that was the end of it. I never heard about it again from her. (Ah, Life is good. "NO, you'll put your eye out." "But Grandpa, Mom!")
Anyway, at the time I was feeling miserable.
After they gave me the schvotsky, I felt like, Oh God, I felt GREATTTTTTT!!!!
My first real alcohol experience. And....
I LOVED my GrandFather!!!! I mean, I did feel so much better and it cleared up my breathing a bit too.
Wow, the old country really knows some fixatives!
He was Romanian, or Bulgarian or something (my Grandmother was Czech or Slavic or something, and my own dad was Irish...which I lean to, go figure).
The only other recipe I've found like this was Chinese:
Garlic, ginger, cayenne, lemon, honey
Ginger. Huh. Interesting. I might try incorporating that.
Be well!
It is an old country remedy for a cold:
Boil whiskey with bacon bits in it, lemon slices, honey and cayenne.
Blend to desired strength, spicier the better.
NO WATER! :)
Drink.
You sweat, you numb out, you drink as many as required.
Your illness begins to not bother you so much.
First time I had it I was sick with a flu or cold or something at 11.
My had grandfather stopped by and told my mom, his daughter, "make him schvotsky!" (shhhh vot ski)
I'm not sure of the spelling, I've never found it referenced anywhere and Grandpa is dead these past many years. What a great loss to the local diesel engineering industry.
If he said it, my mom did was she was told. I knew as a child, that this was a great thing. See, that's how I got my pellet gun. He had said, "What do you want
for your birthday, today?"
I said, (looking tentatively at my mom and her face showing a don't do it look):
"I want a BB gun"
We went to the store, I got a gun. My mom tried to argue once on that trip.
He said something to her and that was the end of it. I never heard about it again from her. (Ah, Life is good. "NO, you'll put your eye out." "But Grandpa, Mom!")
Anyway, at the time I was feeling miserable.
After they gave me the schvotsky, I felt like, Oh God, I felt GREATTTTTTT!!!!
My first real alcohol experience. And....
I LOVED my GrandFather!!!! I mean, I did feel so much better and it cleared up my breathing a bit too.
Wow, the old country really knows some fixatives!
He was Romanian, or Bulgarian or something (my Grandmother was Czech or Slavic or something, and my own dad was Irish...which I lean to, go figure).
The only other recipe I've found like this was Chinese:
Garlic, ginger, cayenne, lemon, honey
Ginger. Huh. Interesting. I might try incorporating that.
Be well!
The Outer Limits Feature being written
'SAW' WRITERS DOING 'THE OUTER LIMITS' FEATURE
FEAST and SAW writers Marcus Dunstron and Patrick Melton have been tapped to write a feature film for MGM based on the Anthology series.
Hailed as “the best program of its type to ever run on network TV” by acclaimed author Stephen King, this sci-fi fantasy original series ignited the imagination of viewers with the help of such distinguished guest star appearances by Academy Award WinnerÒ Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies), Adam West (“Batman”), Eddie Albert (“Green Acres”) and Star Trek alumni William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan.The 1960s debut of the macabre series broke new ground by blurring the line between fact and fiction with dark introspective storylines. Fans became hooked as the series continued to challenge the human mind by making the unbelievable seem like a terrifying reality. As television’s longest running science-fiction anthology, “The Outer Limits” has garnered several awards, including four Cable Ace Awards, two Gemini Awards and two Saturn Awards.
From Rich Goellnitz We love horror movies on Facebook
FEAST and SAW writers Marcus Dunstron and Patrick Melton have been tapped to write a feature film for MGM based on the Anthology series.
Hailed as “the best program of its type to ever run on network TV” by acclaimed author Stephen King, this sci-fi fantasy original series ignited the imagination of viewers with the help of such distinguished guest star appearances by Academy Award WinnerÒ Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies), Adam West (“Batman”), Eddie Albert (“Green Acres”) and Star Trek alumni William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan.The 1960s debut of the macabre series broke new ground by blurring the line between fact and fiction with dark introspective storylines. Fans became hooked as the series continued to challenge the human mind by making the unbelievable seem like a terrifying reality. As television’s longest running science-fiction anthology, “The Outer Limits” has garnered several awards, including four Cable Ace Awards, two Gemini Awards and two Saturn Awards.
From Rich Goellnitz We love horror movies on Facebook
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
North Korea says its ready for dialog and war. How about War?
Pyongyang says that in response to the US and South Korea military exercises, spawned because of the North having sunk a ship of the South, that they are ready for dialog or War. I'm starting to think, we should remove the government of North Korea. Why?
Because, they are deluded, far beyond 99% of all other governments in a way that is severely damaging to their people, they are a threat to the local region, the are becoming a threat to the international regions, and it is just wrong to allow a government like that to exist. If we are willing to take out a Saddam Hussein, if we are willing to try to help work out the problems in Afghanistan, North Korea would seem a viable option too.
We don't, we won't, try to help a country if they are not in a state where we can do some good; they would need a viable governmental structure to allow setting up a reasonable alternate State to run things. We made that mistake in Somalia and don't plan to do it again any time soon.
What gets me so annoyed, is seeing countries where the government is far beyond the pale on treating its people poorly. When people are dying in a country of starvation, when they are being killed systematically by their own government, THEN is the time for not just the United States to step in, but the entire world.
If you ask me, Israel should be leading this charge for the world. As much as they have complained (and for good reason) about the Holocaust, and all their pandering about "never forget, never forget", it seems to me, they have forgotten plenty too quickly. Perhaps they don't have the resources financially, but they should have the moral resources because of their own past experiences, subjugation and constant attempted annihilation, throughout history.
I've never understood, having grown up hearing about their historical plight year after year, why they aren't the moral center of the world. Yet I hear things about their issues with the Palestinians on a constant basis that makes me wonder, what in the hell they are thinking about. OK, I don't want to get into a big diatribe on Israel, I never do, nobody does, but that's another matter.
My point is, someone, should be leading this charge and I'd like to know why it should be the US? But, I don't care. Someone, should start doing something about the bully governments in the world. Should we invade Iran? No, I really don't think so, they have a viable country, screwed up as it is. These church and state countries, need to grow up, wise up, and put an end to this.
But North Korea, is a different kind of animal. Where Iran walks a kind of line, North Korea stepped over that line a long, long time ago. I don't really think we should go to full out war with them, but some action should be taken to destabilize this paranoid regime until the fall and their people can start to live actual lives in a fairly free and open society. Something that should be a right, the world over by this time.
Where do we get a pay off in all our cavorting around the world blowing things up? In the future. We need to calm this world down, to systematically eliminate the leaders and governments that are keeping their own people, and thereby, all peoples, down from growing into a vast economy of good living.
Case in point: the Niger River yearly oil spills need to be ended. These spills are said to be, by Amnesty International, to be the size of an Exxon Valdez oil spill, every year, for the past fifty years! With no clean up yet. The $600 million dollars that region has gotten from the oil companies deal of 40%/60% in favor of the Niger government, with those proceeds having never made it back to the region affected by the oil production by those foreign companies, has all or mostly gone into the pockets (that is, most likely, Swiss bank accounts) of those charged with the protection of their own people.
I will never understand how you can be put in charge of protecting a country full of people, men, women, aged, children, handicapped, and then take advantage of them. Those government officials should be called to task by the World Court and held accountable. The people who have died from this catastrophe, from this outrage, should be tallied, and murder charges brought forth on those Government officials.
But then, even they, are not to find their special place in a Christian's Hell, like the government of North Korea.
Because, they are deluded, far beyond 99% of all other governments in a way that is severely damaging to their people, they are a threat to the local region, the are becoming a threat to the international regions, and it is just wrong to allow a government like that to exist. If we are willing to take out a Saddam Hussein, if we are willing to try to help work out the problems in Afghanistan, North Korea would seem a viable option too.
We don't, we won't, try to help a country if they are not in a state where we can do some good; they would need a viable governmental structure to allow setting up a reasonable alternate State to run things. We made that mistake in Somalia and don't plan to do it again any time soon.
What gets me so annoyed, is seeing countries where the government is far beyond the pale on treating its people poorly. When people are dying in a country of starvation, when they are being killed systematically by their own government, THEN is the time for not just the United States to step in, but the entire world.
If you ask me, Israel should be leading this charge for the world. As much as they have complained (and for good reason) about the Holocaust, and all their pandering about "never forget, never forget", it seems to me, they have forgotten plenty too quickly. Perhaps they don't have the resources financially, but they should have the moral resources because of their own past experiences, subjugation and constant attempted annihilation, throughout history.
I've never understood, having grown up hearing about their historical plight year after year, why they aren't the moral center of the world. Yet I hear things about their issues with the Palestinians on a constant basis that makes me wonder, what in the hell they are thinking about. OK, I don't want to get into a big diatribe on Israel, I never do, nobody does, but that's another matter.
My point is, someone, should be leading this charge and I'd like to know why it should be the US? But, I don't care. Someone, should start doing something about the bully governments in the world. Should we invade Iran? No, I really don't think so, they have a viable country, screwed up as it is. These church and state countries, need to grow up, wise up, and put an end to this.
But North Korea, is a different kind of animal. Where Iran walks a kind of line, North Korea stepped over that line a long, long time ago. I don't really think we should go to full out war with them, but some action should be taken to destabilize this paranoid regime until the fall and their people can start to live actual lives in a fairly free and open society. Something that should be a right, the world over by this time.
Where do we get a pay off in all our cavorting around the world blowing things up? In the future. We need to calm this world down, to systematically eliminate the leaders and governments that are keeping their own people, and thereby, all peoples, down from growing into a vast economy of good living.
Case in point: the Niger River yearly oil spills need to be ended. These spills are said to be, by Amnesty International, to be the size of an Exxon Valdez oil spill, every year, for the past fifty years! With no clean up yet. The $600 million dollars that region has gotten from the oil companies deal of 40%/60% in favor of the Niger government, with those proceeds having never made it back to the region affected by the oil production by those foreign companies, has all or mostly gone into the pockets (that is, most likely, Swiss bank accounts) of those charged with the protection of their own people.
I will never understand how you can be put in charge of protecting a country full of people, men, women, aged, children, handicapped, and then take advantage of them. Those government officials should be called to task by the World Court and held accountable. The people who have died from this catastrophe, from this outrage, should be tallied, and murder charges brought forth on those Government officials.
But then, even they, are not to find their special place in a Christian's Hell, like the government of North Korea.
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