BBC, Iraq, and me

I just finished watching the March 15 show of BBC's Question Time, where a high powered panel and intelligent and diverse audience members discussed the Iraq situation for one hour. My impressions:

• How that level of discourse (in terms of time, level of participants, intelligence of discussion) just doesn't happen on American TV.
• How intelligent and mature the audience members members seemed to be. Though many different views were represented, it remained civil.
• The same impression I have whenever I see or read something from John Bolton. The man is an evil turd. And I type that in a calm, civil tone.
  
• That what I feel is a key point was only mentioned briefly, and not directly addressed. That point being that the US was instrumental in bringing Sadaam to power, keeping him in power, encouraging and supporting his war with Iran, and deafening in it's silence when he was gassing various enemies. It's ludicrous to assume that suddenly we are acting from the moral high-ground. We couldn't be trusted then, so we shouldn't be trusted now.
  
• That no one mentioned the wanton destruction of all of the ministries. I mean, if Iraqi self governance and stability was a goal, that's a pretty dumb thing to do. However, if instability is your goal, it's a pretty effective action.
• That no one mentioned the (4 or 5 I think) huge permanent bases, and largest embassy on planet Earth. But, the turd Bolton slimily spouted that no one wants the troops there any longer than is absolutely necessary. When the Iraqi's stand up...blah blah blah.
• That it was said that soon Iraqis would create laws allowing them for the first time to share in the wealth of Iraqi oil. That struck me as rather odd. Isn't that like saying that you can share in your bank account? If it's their oil, it's their oil, all of it, and it's their decision as whether to share it with others or not.
• Several spoke, in a frightening way (to me), that when the UN doesn't go our way, with countries like Russia, France, and China jamming up the Security Council, that it's something like a moral imperative to act to stop evil. As when China invaded Tibet, or as they could invade Taiwan? As when Sadaam invaded Kuwait which he blamed for stealing Iraqi oil via slant drilling? As with Russia attacking Afghanistan? Are we now saying that those are all reasonable, morally justified actions? If not, why not?
• Thank goodness for the internet, that I can access such info.
  

Thai style

(I wrote this a few years ago as a way to introduce American host families to two high school Thai exchange students. My students. I know the kids and the families well. - Years ago, when I first came to Thailand, I said, Thailand has a lot to teach the world. I still stand behind those words. So here are some of those ideas, which I wrote to help my Thai students have a smooth reception in the land of America.)

Thais are cool, and think that life should be enjoyed. Enjoyed properly – in a sweet, smooth, innocent and fresh way.

Thais intuit very well what is right and wrong
and they care about that.

They care about right and wrong.

They care about their own actions being right or wrong.

Love and commitment to their parents is absolute.

The Thai family is a rock.
A beautiful rock.

Respect for elders and teachers is automatic – and for the most part genuine.

Elder and parental advise is truly taken to heart. (Advise carefully. Talk from the heart, a Thai kid will hear.)

Thais understand goodness quite well (check me on this, please) and aggression, for them, is almost always negative - even when they show aggression themselves.

Seriousness is considered negative, as it lacks softness and joy.

Thais aren’t interested in changing another’s idea.
Other’s ideas and actions are the responsibility of the others.
Other ideas aren’t a threat.

Thais like to share the moments of life with other people. Being alone is usually a bummer. Open kindness is easy for Thais, as is forgiveness and laughter.

They are very comfortable in the now-moment. And uncomfortable out of it.

Jokes are expected. Fun is always welcome, and considered valuable and important.

Thais want to be awake with loved ones and friends, properly enjoying the now-moment, laughing and smiling, even through the difficult times. That’s the good life.

Thai physics

I drive down the little lane on my little motorbike. A dog lying in the road gets up and looks at me in a bad way. I sputter onwards. An old woman carrying a heavy load emerges from a sidestreet – like she didn’t even see me coming, or like she didn’t even care. I hit the brakes. I notice my sour mood getting more sour. A cute little girl in her little school uniform looks at me like I’m dangerous.

I stop.
I put both feet on the ground.

I say to myself.
Go with joy, or don’t go at all.

I breathe deeply.
It takes a while.

I feel joy return.

I feel joy return.
To my mind.
To my body.
I feel it shine in me.

I sputter onwards.
The dogs in the road part to let me pass.
Children smile.
Lights turn green.

Another Thai lesson.

How corporations kill

What makes a corporation evil?

I think that really is the question that cracks it all open. Let's turn it around: Why should corporations be good? Well, it seems that there is no inherent reason for them to 'be good' or 'do what is best for society' whatsoever. None. However if the people who direct the corporation wish to do good, they are at liberty to do so, provided that they do not violate the prime directive: maximize the return for the stockholders. So, no reason to do good, legal mandate to increase profits.

The system used to evaluate profits is blind to environmental and social destruction. So clear-cutting forests makes corporate sense. As does dumping pollution anywhere you can. The world environment and society have no value in the corporate reckoning system, so they simply are not counted. Such atrocities don't make it into the ledger.

Thus, with nothing inclining them towards the good, and absolutely no reason to care about the environment or human welfare, but a clear and legal prime directive pushing them to maximize return, what should we expect? Add to that mix a set of driven, smart, CEO types, who have perhaps convinced themselves that what increases the bottom line is inherently good, and you have a recipe for a very efficient organization whose actions could be massively destructive.

No megalomaniacal evil genius at the helm.

But destruction, exploitation, and all kinds of bad stuff.

These kinds of men built tens of thousands of nuclear warheads. Sleeping soundly in their beds at night.

I remember from my days at Martin Marietta (now Martin Lockheed) a cool, family guy, softball coach, project manager who had a big laser photo (remember those?) framed as the center piece of his office. It showed MX missile warheads returning to Earth through the cloud cover, like a family of falling stars. He was a nice guy, a family man, and he loved that picture. And if they would have been mere meteorites, it would have been beautiful. But it wasn't. They were dummy nuclear warheads. He put that picture in front of his desk, so every time he looked up, he saw it. Why? Because his work made those warheads fly so precisely. He was one of the nicest guys I met during my time there. I liked him very much.

He was proud of his work.
I was new enough to be sickened with dread.

Iraq: a two front money scheme

The simple reason that the W company (a front company) sent the American military to shock and awe Iraq is the old story. Old as the hills. Treasure. To steal treasure. Again. From the poor to the rich. Again. Yawn.

But this war has a modern twist. In Roman times money came from the booty of war. But W company isn’t so interested in stealing treasure from the vanquished – Iraqis were rather poor after years of brutal sanctions. And not to steal oil, though that’s a nice side dish. No, one of the great reasons for ‘going in’ was to take money from the US Treasury; to take money from the US treasure and put it into a few carefully positioned pockets. And the time and energy they take to position their pockets is truly amazing. Would that they could channel such intensity towards happy ends, but alas, I digress.

The American army no longer cooks for itself, nor washes its own clothes, nor builds its own camps, nor supplies it’s soldiers with means of calling home. KBR (Kellog, Brown and Root, a Halliburton possession, for newcomers to world events) does that at dectuple the price, thank you very much. See the documentaries Iraq for Sale, or The War Tapes for enough gory details to make you sick. Meals to the troops get billed out at $29, laundry $99 a load, and locally made cola $6 a six-pack. KBR bills by the plate whether there is food on it or not, and by the truck-journey, whether there is anything in it or not. They can even demand that US soldiers protect their investments. Good work if you can get it. And if the vice prez happens to be your former CEO, get it you can. Without even the process of bidding, and all that competition nonsense.

And then of course there’s all the material. The bullets, the humvees, the trucks, the smart bombs, the fuel. War consumes like crazy. Look around. Every company who sells these consumables is a ‘patriotic’ supporter of the war. Their stock is up. Patriotic bumperstickers fill their parking lots. “I support my paycheck the troops”.

A few years ago, via Riverbend blog (a heroic Iraqi), I read about an Iraqi engineering company, in the early, ideological days of the ‘reconstruction’, that bid on the repair of a bridge. They lost. The contract went to a US company, at ten times their bid.

What ended up getting constructed were permanent military bases, and the biggest embassy on the planet – a new, neocon Vatican.

America is in a money fever. Our army is on the other side of the world. The fever has gotten down to our roots.

We’ve started yet another war to pump money into pockets. Looks like over 700,000 Iraqis have died as a result. Don’t talk about them. Kids in Iraq can’t go to school and are growing up in a nightmare scenario. Don’t talk about them. The money is flowing as designed. Americans are getting poorer and working harder just to stay afloat. Don’t talk about them. The money is flowing as designed, from our normal pockets into some rich CEO's, and in the process is massive suffering and death.

The constitution lays out the mechanisms by which we control this beast called government. We have not used those mechanisms. The death toll has been enormous. Our karma.

Instant karma, because make no mistake my friends, this is a two front war: Iraq and America. The people behind W company know that the American people are their greatest threat. The Patriot act was no mistake.

Torture is legal; free speech is not.

Our primary torture base has a cute nickname, gitmo.

A two front war. Both countries are in mortal danger. And the money guys look in the camera and say ‘stay the course’.

This fever is at our cultural roots now. What are we going to do?

I want a new god.

The recent rise of atheist rebuttal to the monotheist monoliths has been interesting for me. So here's some of my thoughts on this God thing:

There seems to be confusion about what a universe without ‘God’ would look like, act like, value, be worth, and be worth living in. Well that then begs a better look at ‘the God question’ doesn’t it?

0. Can I personally communicate with God?

1. Is God an individual, with a personality and emotions and human foibles such as jealousy and anger?

2. Is God the only way towards Good?

3. How can we have ethics without God, when your good and my good may be different?

4. Who made the universe (a), its rules (b), and all the complex stuff in it (c)?

Let’s start with the number 4 and work our way backwards.

4. A three-part loaded question. Why presuppose a who?

a) We just don’t know how the universe got here. We may have our beliefs, theories, and opinions, but we can’t know.

b) The rules of the universe – tautologically beautiful and reliable – are also of unknown origin. These two questions (a and b) are fascinating to me in terms of metaphysics, but are not the stuff of rational debate between persons of opposing views.

c) As for the complex stuff in the universe, well, here rationality begins to find some traction. Given that we have a universe with basic stuff and rules, how do we get to the sublime reaches of human experience? Good question. I’m more than willing to entertain ideas that go beyond the rational, as long as they fit well with the evidence around me; but since this is a topic I can ponder utilizing my reason, a belief-only answer ain’t gonna satisfy me.

3. Sure we can have ethics without the concept of ‘God’. The concepts of pain, joy, health, suffering, wholesomeness, unwholesomeness, wisdom, and ignorance require no deity to fathom. All humans naturally understand these. The range of human experience is a natural and rigorous base for ethics.

2. I would say that motion towards the positive cluster: the joy, health, wholesomeness and wisdom can be confidently called ‘good’. And the opposites not good. In addition many of the actions ascribed to deities in various holy books have been anything but what a reasonable person would consider ‘good.’ Thus, not only don’t I see a deity a necessary to define good, I see deity often used as something that confuses the whole concept of good.

1. As we develop as individuals we hopefully rise above the blinding rushes of emotion such as jealousy and anger. Therefore I cannot ascribe these qualities in any way to a ‘supreme being’.

0. Great question. I would imagine that each of us must answer this one for themselves.

For me, if there is a God, that really did create all this stuff from the quantum fluctuation to galaxies, time, thought and memory, dinosaurs and pi, falling apples and the smile on a child's face, then that is just one outrageously cool, fantastic entity. I can't see an entity like that either interested in punishing or aching for worship...which is maybe just me seeing what I want to see, because worshiping a punisher was never much fun. For me.

Grandma's funeral

I just got done talking with my mom, dad, brother, nephew, and cousin via skype. God bless the internet and God bless skype. The ceremony will start at 2am my time. Two hours from now. My cousin, Jamie will speak. She just read me what she's going to say. It's perfect. It's more than perfect. We laughed and cried together as she read it for me over this blessed internet phone. My mom's going to laugh/cry like crazy.
As it should be.