Peak Oil and the Political Economy of Terrorism
by Mathew Maavak
In Iraq, while bombs routinely kill civilians, little has been noted of pipeline sabotages, stretching from Kirkuk to Bayji to the Turkish border. Restoring normal output may take up to a year. And that's a big hypothetical "if" with Iraq in a state of disintegration. Think of the hundreds of thousands of miles of exposed pipelines around the world, and the cumulative number of years needed to repair them? If Iraq's oil and its pipelines can energize the current sectarian war, couldn't that be replicated in places simmering with ethnic and social tensions? Expect authoritarian governments to manufacture terrorism for the perpetuation of power. If you regard the USA PATRIOT Act as draconian, you haven't seen the world yet!
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It's NOT About Rummy, Dummy!
by Ben Tanosborn
Enough said already! The mainstream media has been milking the issue of Rumsfeld's incumbency, squeezing every drop of rummy to the dryness of Chile's Atacama Desert. Perhaps that's something to be expected domestically. What does come as a surprise, however, is the amount of coverage and level of speculation in the foreign press; most particularly, the press chronicling to the peoples in the Middle East. And what comes as an even larger surprise, it's the importance attached to the possible exit, or stay, of the Pentagon's chief. Donald Rumsfeld is a colorful character, yes. but even if he is Cruella's favorite devil-son, he's politically irrelevant to the well-entrenched American foreign policy. Doesn't the international press corps know that?
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Someone Stole the Lamp
by Steve Osborn
Diogenes was reputed to have walked about the streets of Athens carrying a lighted lamp. When people stopped him to ask why, he would tell them, "I am seeking an honest man." One day, he set the lamp down to eat a snack given him by a passerby. When he finished his repast, he bent down to find that someone had stolen his lamp! That story popped into my mind while reading Molly Ivins' latest column, titled The Daily Drip of Special Favors for Special Interests. In it, she explains how the House effectively repealed over 200 state public health protection and food safety regulations by passing H.R. 4167, the "National Uniformity for Food Act." This act was passed without a public hearing and despite a public write-in protest against it. Apparently, the food industry spared no expense to see that it passed.
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A Little Perspective, Please
by Jason Miller
After years of living under the perpetual risk of the ultimate terrorist attack, most people have become acclimated to the distinct possibility of imminent extinction of life on Earth. Fortunately, humans tend to be highly adaptable beings, and most are able to go on with their daily tasks without dwelling on potential doomsday scenarios. In fact, people have become so desensitized to the threat of nuclear holocaust that those who still believe American propaganda are more terrified of religious fanatics wielding box cutters than they are of an ICBM capable of annihilating millions.
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The Easiest Way
by Lonnie D. Story
"The easiest way to defeat your enemy is to befriend him." These words of treachery were my indoctrination to a time in my life that seems a million years past. Nevertheless, the words ring strong and true even for the hatred of such truth. "Get close, get inside, grab your opponent, hold him close and you have the advantage to drive your knife up and in to his very heart." These are the words that echo from a time past during Close Quarters Combat Training. "Exvert the blade, sharp edge out to your opponent. The common instinct is to hold the sharp edge in, the correct hold is edge out! Sharp edge to attacks from and to your opponent. Get inside and work your way back out!" These were the continued instructions from days I try to vaguely remember.
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