From News For Real by Stephen P. Pizzo
C-R-A-Z-Y !
Oh hell, I know it's Saturday, and normally I don't bother you on
weekends. But some days it's just unavoidable. And today's news makes
it unavoidable.
Holy madhouse, Batman. Am I going crazy or is everyone else going crazy?
Day's like this make that more than rhetorical query.
Where to begin?
Moats. Let's talk moats. You know,
those ditches around castles and villages that were all the rage a
thousand years ago. Well, they're baaaaccck. Yep. Once the first line
of defense for medieval castles the moat has now been embraced by the
modern world's last remaining super power.
IRAQ:
Iraqi officials plan to dig a series of trenches around Baghdad in the
coming weeks to seal it off and control movement into and out of the
city, The New York Times reported on Saturday... "We're going to build
a trench around Baghdad" -- a distance measuring about 60 miles (97 km)
-- "so we can control the exits and entrances so people will be
searched properly," Brig.-Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf told the Times on
Friday in an interview. (More)
So, the next time you hear a reporter ask a US official if things are
getting better or worse in Iraq, don't waste a single neuron listening
to his reply. All you need to know is that ...
they're building a moat around Baghdad
That's it.
And it raises more questions than just “how we doin' in Iraq?”
The US defense budget will approach half a trillion dollars this year,
a goodly portion of which is being spent on high tech missile defense
systems, stealth bombers, nuclear subs and such.
Pentagon Report:
U.S. Successfully Pursues the Global War on Terrorism
- The fiscal 2005 budget includes robust readiness and
acquisition funding, important legislative authorities, and other
essentials for winning the global war on terrorism. - Readiness. The request funds the military’s
training and readiness requirements and sustains prudent readiness
standards, e.g., for flying hours. Ongoing initiatives include - Improving metrics to evaluate force readiness, with
emphasis on evaluating readiness relative to a full range of missions,
not merely the traditional major regional contingency operation. - Fleet Response Plan, adopted in fiscal 2004, expands in
fiscal 2005 and will increase the availability of naval assets for duty
worldwide. (MORE)
And yet, the best the Pentagon has to offer in Iraq is a moat.
I leave all the implications of that to you to sort out.
And since we are on the subject of institutional mental illness, now this:
Pope Offends Muslims
Afghanistan's Taliban on Saturday demanded Pope Benedict XVI to
apologise for remarks linking Islam with violence, adding the comment
showed the Christian West was waging war against Muslims..."We strongly
condemn it," Mohammad Hanif, who regularly speaks to the media on
behalf of the extremist insurgent group, said..."We also want the Pope
to apologise before the Muslim Umma (nation)," he said...The remarks
were "obviously part of a crusader war that the West, chiefly America
and (President) Bush, is waging against Islam and Muslims," he said. (More)
That story SO
dovetails with the moat story. It's as though we've all been dragged a
thousand years back in time. On one hand we have the most
technologically advanced military on earth building a moat to protect a
city from invaders. On the other hand we have a European monarch
denouncing Islam because of it's violent expansionist doctrine.
And, in response Muslims rushed into the streets and violently proved the point.
Fools to left of me, clowns to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
It's getting to the point I'm afraid to turn the news on in the
morning. Is it really global warming that we have to fear? Or could
what really end mankind as we know it is that somehow we threw evolution into hyper-reverse?
Can you doubt for one second that the Pope's remarks will spark a whole
new Christians v. Muslims/Muslims v. Christians wave worldwide? ("Yo profit was so stupid that...") Remember that flap over the
Dutch cartoons? Well that was nothing compared to this. This one has legs...
very, very, very old legs.
So, let's review: We have moats abuilding AND a religious nut in silk robes, who
lives in a castle and rules unchallenged, poking a stick in the eye
of the Judeao/Chrisitain world's arch enemy, Islam. On one side we have western
nations filled with biblically lobotmized citzens, lining up and putting on bullet proof vests (armor.) On
the other side we have an endless supply of Koranically lobotomized hordes
eager to earn their heavenly bones by getting across the moat and
killing the guys in armor.
Been there. Done that. And done that, and done that and done that. How
many people do you figure have already died over that spat in the last
1500 years or so? Millions? At least.
But don't stop counting. Because, it appears neither side has changed,
or learned a thing. They seem to have caught their breath and are ready
to for another round.
Thanks for listening. I needed to get that off my chest. Now I must go.
I've got a contractor coming over to give me a bid on a moat.