The Warpfish Chronicles

"27 years on the planet, and I still haven't figured out what's going on."

Around the World, Warpfish Style IV -- December 5th, 2001

Another random collection of thoughts... this one even more jumbled than usual. (It's been a while, and I have a lot of small stuff to say. Sue me. (8-) )
How come it seems that, when the rain falls, people seem to drive that much worse? You would think that, when rain comes down, people would drive more carefully.

What a mess in Afghanistan. The use of military force once again proves to be a solution, just not necessarily the best one. And Bin Laden learns what people seem to need reminding from time to time -- if you keep poking at the United States, eventually the US will rip your head off. Just because the US military is kept on a short leash, doesn't mean the leash won't be taken off from time to time.

But will this solve anything? Taking down a terrorist group, or a terrorist group sanctuary will eliminate an immediate threat, but you have to look at the long range. In this type of warfare, the battle for hearts and minds is just as important as the battle of bombs and bullets. This battle may be soon over, but the war will continue for a long time. As long as people hate enough, there will always be conflict.

Along the lines of military force -- it amazes me how many Canadians don't get why Canada has such a small navy. It's because we live next door to the largest navy in the world. Duh.

I also find it funny that our Defence Minister (Art Eggleton) can claim with a straight face that the Canandian Forces have everything they need. Even though their helicopters are falling out of the sky, their short on spare parts and ammunition, and, they're understrength by at least several battalions. *sigh* If Canada wishes to remain credible on the world stage, they need the ability to project power, independent of the United States. Not that'll happen any time soon.

You know, I still think the Liberals are the best of a bad bunch, but, my estimation of them keeps dropping further and further as I watch how they mismanage the country. The only thing that kept the whole charade going was the strength of the world economy, which dragged the Canadian economy along with it. But now, now that things are falling apart, now the accusations are flying. I also find it fascinating how the Ontario provicinal government keeps asking the municipal governments and the Federal government to keep stepping in with money, while they slash Corporate and personal taxes and come out smelling like roses. Politics in action. Of course, given mob intelligence, it'll probably work.

You know, if people want to complain about credit card rates, the best way to make a statement is to STOP USING THEM. That'll certainaly shock banks and other companies into lowering their rates.

Back to the US as a great power for a moment -- something else that confuses me is how people think the US has an obligation to be humanitarian and moral. The US has no such obligation. It will look out for its best interest, because that's what the people of the US want, regardless of how they act individually. (In a democracy, ultimate responsibility for a government's actions must be laid at the hands of the people who elected them.)

However, for a great power, it acts with considerable restraint. For all the evil things that the US does (and I'm certainly not going to excuse things like the Bay of Pigs, for example), can you imagine what would have happened to world history if Nazi Germany, or Stalinist Russia, or a host of other countries had attained Great Power status? In the great scheme of things -- we may view the US as 'bad' (and perhaps it is), but the possibilities are even worse.

I think I'll stop there. I actually have another rant about the current crop of protestors, but, I'll save that for another day.

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Last Modified: Monday, 11-Feb-2002 12:41:45 CST