Wednesday, March 17, 2004
political chaos
and no, i'm not just talking about the apathetic voting population of america (all 50% of the eligible adults who actually bother to show up), at least not yet. no, right now i'm just talking about how al qaeda is determining spain's foreign policy for them. newly elected prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero has said he plans on removing the spanish forces from iraq because he believes the whole thing was a mistake to begin with. whether that may be or not, can be addressed later, but i fail to see how abandoning the process of helping the iraqis set up a safe and stable democracy at this point is going to help the situation. it's not like we're all the sudden going to be magically transported back to a year ago, before the whole thing happened. dood is playing right into the bad guys' hands, as a document published on a message board used by al qaeda states that spain would be targeted in order to force a regime change that would be more reclusive and split it's support from the u.s. led 'war on terror.' it's actually kinda scary how things played out exactly they way al qaeda said it would in their post. classic divide and conquer, it's the oldest trick and the book, but since spain doesn't have a history major (like me, haha) running the country, they're doomed to repeat it.
so my question to spain is this: are you really so naive as to believe that simply pulling troops out of iraq is going to make you safe? you think they (meaning al qaeda & associates) wont come back and threaten you they way they're doing france, because they disagree with the nation's social, political or religious policies? (i do too, it's discrimination and a violation of human rights, but that's irrelevant) the point is this: you are not safe now, nor will you be until terrorist networks around the world are dismantled and their ringleaders caught, and that's not going to happen by abandoning iraq. instead it will become yet another breeding ground for militant islamic fundamentalists, and eventually they'll come back to haunt everyone. why do you think they already have an established network there, because ibiza is the hot party spot and they really like foam parties? methinks not. i am continually amazed at how shortsighted people can be.
also, south korea's president was impeached last week. how on earth did i miss that one? this all happened because he dared to stump for a political party he doesn't even belong to before upcoming parliamentary elections on april 15. i had no idea, but apparently that's illegal in south korea. public officials have to be 'politically neutral figures' or something to that effect. ok, i know it's not my country or anything, but is it really that serious? impeach him for the political corruption and acceptance of illegal donations to his campaign, or even for the poor economy (though i would consider that to be ridiculous as well, for any public figure. no one person can determine the economic direction of an entire country, the closest thing we have to that is alan greenspan). both of those reasons would at least slightly veil the obvious, which was that the political parties who opposed (currently in limbo) president roh moo-hyun simply wanted him out of office and they had the votes in parliament to remove him. i suppose it was a stupid move on his part, seeing as how he surely knew about this law before hand, but even the election commission didn't deem it to be anything more than a petty infraction. we'll see what the korean constitutional court has to say about the situation (they have 180 days to decide if this is legit or not). it does make me laugh to think about what would happen to an american president in roh's stead. i don't think we've had one freely elected head of state who wouldn't have been impeached for some reason or another with that kind of system in place.
elswhere in the world, australians are getting antsy as well, thinking that their support of the invasion has made the country a target for al qaeda. do you not remember bali? yes, it occurred on indonesian soil, but if you don't think it was targeting the many australians among all the other western vacationers who were killed (88 out of over 190 people, to be somewhat precise), then i probably can't reason with you. yes, aussies, you've been a target since before the war simply because you are not in line with the worldview that the perpetrators have.
how do i end this post without sounding bitter, depressed and defeated, because i certainly don't feel that way. there are definitely times when i look at this world, and all i can do is shake my head at the mess we've made, but that's why i do what i do. cuz God changed my life for the better, and i know He wants to do the same for everyone else if they would just take their hands off their ears, stop banging their heads against the proverbial brick wall and listen for a second. i know there are a lot of people out there who don't care. they know the truth, but they just don't want to deal with the ramifications of that truth. but i can't let that stop me, because i also know there are people out there who are like me, wandering through life not really knowing what purpose of it all is, but who want to know. and i want to share that with whoever will listen.
now i sound like the stereotypical (and i stress the word stereotypical, as in not real: a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment) overbearing, right-wing conservative christian who just walks around forcefully shoving my opinion down peoples' collective throats against their will, but i suppose that really can't be helped unless you know me, or take the time to get to know me (does anyone even read this?). besides, it's not an opinion if it's true. it's just the facts, hehe.
symphonic melodies: olive - beyond the fray
brain eats: cnn.com
and no, i'm not just talking about the apathetic voting population of america (all 50% of the eligible adults who actually bother to show up), at least not yet. no, right now i'm just talking about how al qaeda is determining spain's foreign policy for them. newly elected prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero has said he plans on removing the spanish forces from iraq because he believes the whole thing was a mistake to begin with. whether that may be or not, can be addressed later, but i fail to see how abandoning the process of helping the iraqis set up a safe and stable democracy at this point is going to help the situation. it's not like we're all the sudden going to be magically transported back to a year ago, before the whole thing happened. dood is playing right into the bad guys' hands, as a document published on a message board used by al qaeda states that spain would be targeted in order to force a regime change that would be more reclusive and split it's support from the u.s. led 'war on terror.' it's actually kinda scary how things played out exactly they way al qaeda said it would in their post. classic divide and conquer, it's the oldest trick and the book, but since spain doesn't have a history major (like me, haha) running the country, they're doomed to repeat it.
so my question to spain is this: are you really so naive as to believe that simply pulling troops out of iraq is going to make you safe? you think they (meaning al qaeda & associates) wont come back and threaten you they way they're doing france, because they disagree with the nation's social, political or religious policies? (i do too, it's discrimination and a violation of human rights, but that's irrelevant) the point is this: you are not safe now, nor will you be until terrorist networks around the world are dismantled and their ringleaders caught, and that's not going to happen by abandoning iraq. instead it will become yet another breeding ground for militant islamic fundamentalists, and eventually they'll come back to haunt everyone. why do you think they already have an established network there, because ibiza is the hot party spot and they really like foam parties? methinks not. i am continually amazed at how shortsighted people can be.
also, south korea's president was impeached last week. how on earth did i miss that one? this all happened because he dared to stump for a political party he doesn't even belong to before upcoming parliamentary elections on april 15. i had no idea, but apparently that's illegal in south korea. public officials have to be 'politically neutral figures' or something to that effect. ok, i know it's not my country or anything, but is it really that serious? impeach him for the political corruption and acceptance of illegal donations to his campaign, or even for the poor economy (though i would consider that to be ridiculous as well, for any public figure. no one person can determine the economic direction of an entire country, the closest thing we have to that is alan greenspan). both of those reasons would at least slightly veil the obvious, which was that the political parties who opposed (currently in limbo) president roh moo-hyun simply wanted him out of office and they had the votes in parliament to remove him. i suppose it was a stupid move on his part, seeing as how he surely knew about this law before hand, but even the election commission didn't deem it to be anything more than a petty infraction. we'll see what the korean constitutional court has to say about the situation (they have 180 days to decide if this is legit or not). it does make me laugh to think about what would happen to an american president in roh's stead. i don't think we've had one freely elected head of state who wouldn't have been impeached for some reason or another with that kind of system in place.
elswhere in the world, australians are getting antsy as well, thinking that their support of the invasion has made the country a target for al qaeda. do you not remember bali? yes, it occurred on indonesian soil, but if you don't think it was targeting the many australians among all the other western vacationers who were killed (88 out of over 190 people, to be somewhat precise), then i probably can't reason with you. yes, aussies, you've been a target since before the war simply because you are not in line with the worldview that the perpetrators have.
how do i end this post without sounding bitter, depressed and defeated, because i certainly don't feel that way. there are definitely times when i look at this world, and all i can do is shake my head at the mess we've made, but that's why i do what i do. cuz God changed my life for the better, and i know He wants to do the same for everyone else if they would just take their hands off their ears, stop banging their heads against the proverbial brick wall and listen for a second. i know there are a lot of people out there who don't care. they know the truth, but they just don't want to deal with the ramifications of that truth. but i can't let that stop me, because i also know there are people out there who are like me, wandering through life not really knowing what purpose of it all is, but who want to know. and i want to share that with whoever will listen.
now i sound like the stereotypical (and i stress the word stereotypical, as in not real: a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment) overbearing, right-wing conservative christian who just walks around forcefully shoving my opinion down peoples' collective throats against their will, but i suppose that really can't be helped unless you know me, or take the time to get to know me (does anyone even read this?). besides, it's not an opinion if it's true. it's just the facts, hehe.
symphonic melodies: olive - beyond the fray
brain eats: cnn.com
