Chaos Theory

This is just from Tuesday alone:

In other violence Tuesday, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest killed at least 20 people and wounded 68 others in the Amin neighborhood.

Two car bombs killed four and six people, respectively, an official with Iraqi emergency police said.

A bomb in a parked car went off in eastern Baghdad's Maysalon Square, the city's emergency police said.

The blast targeted the convoy of a high-ranking Defense Ministry official, Daham Radhi al-Assel, an adviser to Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi. Three of the adviser's guards were wounded, but he escaped unharmed.

A roadside bomb in northern Baghdad also hit an Iraqi police patrol, wounding four officers.

In addition, bombers set charges on the roof of a Sunni mosque in the capital, badly damaging the shrine. No one was hurt in the attack.

Two mortar rounds struck a Baghdad TV station owned by a Sunni political party, injuring four people, including two journalists, police said. The rounds struck Baghdad Satellite TV, owned by the Iraqi Islamic Party.

Meanwhile, in the north-central city of Tikrit, a Sunni mosque built over the grave of Saddam Hussein's father was bombed Tuesday, an official with the Salaheddin Joint Coordination said.

... (sigh)....

Oy, this could be a problem...

The Jerusalem Post reports that the UAE-based company Dubai Ports World which is vying on taking over 6 major United States ports is known for and participates in the Arab boycott of Israel.

The story goes on to say that under United States law firms are barred from complying with requests to boycott Israel. And guess what? It's true!

So do we go into business with this company and contradict United States law and go ahead with it? I guess in 45-days we could find out.

Meanwhile, this is exactly what we import from Israel. The top 3 of 2005 (thousands of dollars):

1. Gem Diamonds - Uncut or Unset $8,089,139
2. Medicinal, Dental, Pharmaceutical Preparations $1,594,059
3. Telecommunications Equipment $626,216

This story was reported 13 hours ago since this posting (11:30 am CST). It would be interesting to see if any other media can pick it up and confirm this. This could be the tides of change for the entire deal.

200 dead = (what?).......Bull-Shiite

I could not believe this:

Khalilzad: Risk of Iraqi civil war stemming from mosque attack over

(CNN) -- The risk of an Iraqi civil war stemming from the bombing of a Shia shrine five days ago is over, although tensions could again be inflamed if a similar attack occurs, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told CNN Monday.

"I think the country came to the brink of civil war, but Iraqis decided that they didn't want to go down that path and came together," he said on CNN's "The Situation Room."

"Clearly, the terrorists who plotted an attack wanted to provoke a civil war. It looked quite dangerous in the initial 48 hours," he said. "But I believe that the Iraqis decided to come together, and now the risk of civil war from this attack on the Golden Mosque is over."

More than 200 people have died in violence, much of it sectarian, since the bombing of the Al-Askariya mosque in Samarra, known as the Golden Mosque because of its now-destroyed gold dome. It is one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam. (Posted 5:55 p.m.)

Far from it, far from it.... I am not sure exactly how many people have to die to qualify a "civil war" but is there some type of rule book or code to define what exactly is going on in Iraq? And I am sure that there is published research on all civil wars across the world where the first 48 hours prove to be the most dangerous....

Let us consult Wikipedia:

A civil war is a war in which the parties within the same country or empire struggle for national control of state power. As in any war, the conflict may be over other matters such as religion, ethnicity, or distribution of wealth.

As religions tended to become more rigidly defined and understood by their followers, inter-religious tensions generally increased. The rise of Islam witnessed a rash of uprisings against non-Islamic rulers soon after its appearance. Subsequent Islamic history has been marked by repeated civil conflicts, mostly stemming out of the Shi'ite-Sunni divide.

mmm nope... don't see any of that going on in Iraq... it just sounds way too accurate....

"Thank you, come again!"

...the immortal words of Apu from the Simpson's holds true...

India seems pretty enamored with President Bush on his recent trip to India and Pakistan except the Muslims, but what else is new? It is interesting to see how foreign countries percieve Bush. 66% consider George a "friend" whereas back in the United States, the approval rating hovers around 40-45%. And with Bush blessing outsourcing of jobs to India:

Mr. Bush also strongly defended the outsourcing of American jobs to India, which he described as the reality of a global economy.

"Losing a job is traumatic," Mr. Bush said. "It's difficult. It puts a strain on our families. But rather than respond with protectionist policies, I believe it makes sense to respond with educational policies to make sure that our workers are skilled for the jobs of the 21st century."

his approval rating may not get any better in the US on this issue.

But this is the absolute "cream of the curry" (terrible joke):

Is America a bully?: YES - 72 No - 24 Don't know can't say - 5

The aspect that also proved to be interesting was people supported India's stance with the United States on Iran, yet also approve and ignoring American criticism on the construction of a Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline. Is it because an actual democracy can take advantage of OPEC's number two exporter of energy?

And this is a great quote by Bush:

"Younger Indians are acquiring a taste for pizza from Domino's," Mr. Bush said.

Domino's Diplomacy... a big thumbs up to the adminstration's foreign policy.

The Ayodhya Complex: the SaffronTaliban

The surge of violence stemming from the Danish cartoon, the eruption of Shiite-Sunni violence in Iraq, to the wary consideration of a Dubai-based port company to handle American seaports... seems to be fueling a new "Islamophobia" across the world...

A Qatari based newspaper called Al-Raya quotes an Egyptian reformist intellectual saying that India's democracy proves that Muslims will not resort to terrorism if they are involved in a nation's political processes:

"What can we conclude from these facts? The obvious conclusion is that inside every individual on the face of the earth there is a political being… If this being finds overt, legitimate, and effective channels by which it can carry out the natural actions of any political being, it will not look for underground political activities."

The story goes on to say that for those very reason's no attack has ever been on the scale of 9/11 in India. Furthermore, the story cites Abdul Kalam (current Indian president) and Manmohan Singh (current Indian Prime Minister) as representative of minorities in India which Muslims make up 11% and Sikh's make up 2% of the total population.

The story makes an interesting case... amongst a nation of that is majority Hindu, and a 250 million large Muslim population, India for a secular nation has for the most part proved as a benchmark for other democractic nations... barring Jammu and Kashmir, that the government is sensitive to Muslim needs.

The problem with the story is this: people also tend to forget that this so-called 'peace' was a result of many years of struggle against a majority Hindu population. The very birth of the nation resulted in almost 200 thousand to 1 million dead on both sides. At a toll of many lives, Muslims in India had a hard time maintaining their status in India. Also at the same time, the situation in India is very very relative in comparison to all Islamic societies.

Samarra's mosque destruction of one of the holy sites in the Shiite sect of the Muslim religion, errily parallels a similar event that happened in India. Ayodhya, in the North Central state of Uttar Pradesh in India, was considered to be the birthplace of Lord Rama and thus one of the holiest sites of the Hindu religion. During 9th century Muslim invasions of India many centuries prior to the British arriving, Hindu temples were destructed many replaced by mosques. Ayodhya also fell, and was replaced by Babri Masjid in 1528.

In 1992, almost 450 years after the mosque was erected, almost 200 thousand Hindu nationalists converged on Babri Masjid and razed the mosque to the ground. The violence that soon ensued, made way for some of the worst sectarian violence ever witnessed by India since the asassination of Indira Gandhi. Riots that stemmed over the destruction of the masjid lasted for 3 months - creating a huge rift between Muslim and Hindus. Over a thousand people died, mostly Muslims and later led to the March 1993 Bombay bombing - the largest coordinated bombing attack in India leaving - over 200 dead. To say that it was not on the scale of 9/11 - pretty dumb.

Even with archeological evidence being disputed on both the Hindu and Muslim side that Ayodhya ever existed, the Ayodhya complex has been a critical issue in assessing Hindu and Muslim relations. For VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad - off-shoot of RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - like an Indian equivalent to the KKK), Shiv Sena (Army of Shiva), and BJP - Ayodhya for the most part was viewed as a political scheme, a plan to solidfy support for critical elections by arousing support from the 80% Hindu faithful majority.

Has anything really gotten better? Not really... the organizations such as VHP, Shiv Sena and RSS are still active in India. Bal Thackeray, head of the Shiv Sena, was even arrested, sent to trial, and then freed in 45 minutes - for his role in spearheading and feeding the fire of the riots in Mumbai. Even after being released, Thackeray publicly stated that the government was a "puppet" in his hands.

The RSS in recent years still calls for a unified "Hindustan", using 2004 census data as evidence that "Hindus are under threat" by the growing Muslim population:

As if on cue, the RSS-led Sangh Parivar today rushed in to seize upon the latest Census data on religion as "vindication" of it claim that Hindus in India were "under threat" from a rising Muslim popluation

The RSS using the data in its own scheme to fuel a rising "Islamophobia" post 9/11.

India was struck again by another wave of riots when an alledged mob of Muslims set fire to a train in the town of Godhra carrying 59 Sevaks who were transporting stone to the Ayodhya site. The riots that ensued again killed 2,000 Muslims across the state of Gujarat. The government of Gujarat was blamed for stepping aside while Muslims were ravaged in what was called a mediated genocide of Muslims. Gang-rapes of Muslim women were also reported. Investigations are still going on.

India as a model of Muslim relationships living peacefully under democracy? Hardly... And if anything else - no Muslim really ever did resort to terrorism in the first place - they were subject to alot of it, even for political reasons. India is still young and fresh as a democracy: only 59 years old since declaring independence. Since then it has gone through the trials and tribulations of many other nations have, but it is very difficult to say that it is a "model" for democracy just yet at this age. The nation still has alot of growing up to do.

The scary thing is that many of these parties have such a huge political base in India, forming coalitions and representing a majority Hindu population. It is like a fully politically -mobilized KKK with actual voice of influence on the majority. This leaves the secularity of India's identity as a huge question.

The shortfalls of the Indian democracy are apparent. With Iraq and the recent destruction with the mosque, this maybe the first real demonstration of the actual depth of Shiite and Sunni relationships. The scale of the attack will definitely alter relationships between the two sects for years to come. But as a "democracy", Iraq is definitely still in an 'infantile' stage - one has to fall many times before they start to walk....India certainly demonstrates that.

Resources for Ayodhya and Godhra:

Ayodhya Issue Homepage

Coalition Against Genocide

Indian Muslim Council-USA: Views and Analysis of Godhra

Indian Express: Godhra Full Coverage

BBC News: Q&A - The Ayodhya Dispute

Oil habits, die hard: Kickin the ol' Texas Tea

Dredging up old news... President Bush in his recent State of the Union address, asked all Americans to take on the challenge of kicking the habit on the dependence of foreign oil. Easy enough right? Bush meanwhile promises to be substantially free from foreign oil by 2025 and in addition to increasing funding for more research into renewable energy sources and bio-fuels.

So how simple is all this really? The Energy Information Association presents statistics from 2004 that renewable sources only make up 6% of the United State's Energy output. On top of this fossil fuels make up a 86% of the energy production with natural gas and oil combining for 60% of the total energy production and 73% of the fossil fuels. But why now? Why not a long time ago? The rise in oil prices since just 2002 would be enough to warrant a substantial increase in renewable resources. Statistics illustrate that the dependence on oil and gas has stayed the same or risen somewhat since 2000. Renewable energy has also hovered around 6% in those years suggesting that funding was never granted or kicked in. It took 6 years to realize this?

And how can we kick the oil habit considering the common person doesn't know how (from Gibson Consulting):

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION:
I want to buy my gas from companies that don't import from the Middle East. Which ones are they?
Answer: There are essentially NO major-brand retail gas stations whose product derives from US sources only, and basically all of them have Middle East oil as a significant proportion of their source crude - because if refineries used only American oil, they would be incapable of making the volumes that we demand - a 60% shortfall. A few small regional refiner-producers may use MOSTLY American oil, but even they likely use purchased oil - with imported origins - to produce the volumes of gasoline that are demanded by the American public. In addition to all the crude imported, the U must import about 66 million gallons of refined gasoline because our refineries can't make enough

How dependent are we on OPEC and Middle Eastern Oil? The very share of OPEC countries of oil production outnumbers the total production of non-OPEC nations by almost 4X's with OPEC accounting for 78% of the world's oil RESERVES. In 2004, during the height of the oil price rise, the United States imported a total of 5,700 thousand barrels a day from just OPEC nations. Another 7,444 thousand barrels from non-OPEC nations. Considering that most of the OPEC nations are Middle Eastern, it becomes equally important that United State foreign policy aligns itself as friendly with these nations - it just obviously goes hand-in-hand.

David Sandalow of the the Brookings Institution puts the entire situation best. He states that oil could go to $100 a barrel WORLDWIDE pending on relations with Iran which is the second largest exporter of OPEC oil... with the current state of affairs, it seems like this could happen any day. This also includes Venezuela... Hugo Chavez and Bush aren't exactly amigos.

United States dependence on foreign oil is no doubt a scary thing... but it is also not an easy habit to kick. After the rejection of the Kyoto Pact it is hard to even take the adminstration seriously about switching to renewable resources. Why not sign the pact, and demonstrate a willingness to cut back on fossil-fuel consumption which correlates with clean air and carbon dioxide production. Also this forces the public eye and the world community to make sure you comply with the pact and thus make sure the government spend their time fulfilling the pact. For Bush, the oil-man from Texas that he is.... signing the Kyoto pact and taking on renewable energy sources... just seems all too contradictory for the cowboy.

Its a wonder why the government hasn't taken a clue from California.

As simply stated as it was, it is a heavy task to follow.

The Disinformation Cartel

Don't believe everything coming out of Colombia...

The Columbia Journal online and PRwatch.org report that initial reports of a massacre in Colombia blamed on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are untrue. In fact, the basis of the report relied on the word of only one governmental official, and thus was assumed true and taken at face-value...

The truth came to light that FARC was not involved but another and different "demobilized right-wing group". Reuters or any other American media outlet failed however to follow-up the story with the accurate information. Only a Spanish based media outlet followed-up on the story. The criticism lies on the American media for not digging deeper into events in Colombia, rather relying on government officials who may use the media for their own propagandastic need. It also well known that the United States backs the current government of Colombia fully in their pursuit of FARC:

U.S. and Colombian officials are fully aware that this practice provides them with an excellent opportunity to propagandize on current events and that the truth, when finally revealed, will rarely be reported.

Further on, concerning an U.N. Report:

On February 13, the United Nations released its annual human rights report in which it stated that there had been an increase in extra-judicial killings by Colombian soldiers and police in 2005. It went on to note that government forces often dressed the corpses as guerrillas and presented them as combat deaths. According to the report, “Cases were recorded in which commanders themselves had allegedly supported the act of dressing the victims in guerrilla garments to cover up facts and simulate combat.

Failure to comply to the duty of reporting on governmental actions accurately creates a mode of disinformation to be sown into the public. This in turn lets a government utilize the media as a means of spreading their agenda or propaganda if information such as this is not checked. As much as a media keeps the internal workings of a government in check it becomes necessary to also keep foreign policy in check as well:

When journalists and media outlets frequently decide to rely solely on official sources for information, they have made a conscious editorial decision to repeatedly provide the public with only one point of view. And, inevitably, it is the point of view of government officials who have a vested interest in how news events are presented to the public. In other words, the media has simply chosen to act as a mouthpiece for Washington, particularly with regard to U.S. foreign policy issues that rarely get covered in any depth.

In short, government official = PR...they are always trying to push across their point-of-view or interests. Always look for the truth beyond that.

Holy Moscow!

Just thought this would be interesting.... Russian news agency Interfax reports that over 450 terrorist attacks were prevented in Russia, just in the year 2005.

While in the United States, the White House lists 10 foiled attacks against Americans worldwide since 2002. Yet the Washington Post feels that the list leaves important information out or does not coincide with the context of the situations... the supposed plots were "hyped" up and the "terror" alert system hadn't shifted at all during those times.

And oh yeah... this guy definitely is up to something

Fowl or foul?

Times of India reports that the state of Maharashtra (West Coast of Central India) has confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus [ Saturday, February 18, 2006 09:02:28 pmTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] . The New York Times reports it according to Google News 2 hours later... but mysteriously the content cannot be found.

But then, Times of India [Sunday, February 19, 2006 03:10:00 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK] reports that a poultry expert says that it is NOT avian flu... but a seasonal sickness the chickens get.

So in between these two stories....panic ensues (all reports by Times of India):

8 people admitted to hospital, 20,000 chickens slaughtered

High Animal Disease Lab tells public not to 'panic'

30,000 to 1 million birds might have to be killed

Gov't rushes Vet teams to the city of Surat after Bird Flu reported

It is still not confirmed wheather the avian flu has really surfaced in India. Meanwhile perhaps 1 million birds may meet their fate in an untimely genocide. CNN has not reported the presence of bird flu in India either. Neither has the World Health Organization at this moment.

Don't allow yourself to get caught up in the panic.
Knowledge is the best form of preventative medicine.
Arm yourself and learn:

World Health Organization Avian Influenza Fact Sheet

Center for Disease Control Avian Influenza Current Situation

World Organization for Animal Health

Janet Jackson as a WMD

$75 million emergency request... for Iran!?!?

Condoleeza Rice urges Congress to dig even deeper into its pockets and fish out a mere $75 million to meddle in the affairs of Iran. The costs include expanding some sort of "propaganda" war to fuel an internal rising against the Iranian government. Funds would be used to build upon more radio stations and TV broadcasts to hopefully topple and change the Iranian government. Further on, another $100 million to promote "democracy" in Iran...

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who has called for $100 million to promote democracy in Iran, applauded the initiative as the "absolutely right move at this point in time." Although some Iranian activists have criticized the administration for moving too slowly to support them, Brownback said the administration had been "very methodical" in fighting terrorism. "The first step was Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now you're seeing an increasing focus on Iran.

Methodical!?!?! (#**#(*$&*!!! *($&(*(*$^^%%@$!!!!

We actually spent 3.5 million a year in past years for this "program". Approximately $10 million was already set aside for this.

But wait! some actual intelligence:
But Martin S. Indyk, a Clinton administration official who now heads the Saban Center on Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, said the democratic forces the administration wants to support have failed in the past to take on the clerics and have little basis of support -- and would be tainted by U.S. aid. "It's hard to see how $75 million makes a dent in that political reality," Indyk said

Cons:
1. Have we not just spent $250 billion on another nation to promote "democracy"?

2.There was this other thing called Katrina that happened awhile ago too....

Pros:
1. We can fish out and finally make use of the Superbowl scandel of Janet Jackson from the FCC vaults, transmit that, and say "look! this is how free the United States is!"

2. I guess after screwing up in Iraq, a war through the airwaves won't lose you any troops

David Duke, please place your shoes through the X-Ray Machine

Ohh so I guess the problem was that we didn't send the right people for them to like us!

For a nation that is bent on not allowing the wrong people through our borders, we sure have no problem sending them out. David Duke, a white supremecist, former KKK leader, once Louisiana State Representative and twice ran for president, spoke in Syria giving support to the current regime. Duke also talked about the clutch of the "Zionist" regime on both Syria and the United States and as reasons for fueling the ongoing war in Iraq. After blaming everything on "Zionist this, Zionist that" he makes a real case for representing the "peace-loving people of America"...

After the United States government declaring Syria a "terrorist state" and then having one of its own support and sympathize with Syria... I'd say the world is pretty damn confused.

Does this count as exporting "terrorism"?

Just for fun

I guess Dick Cheney's vision is going as well

Where art thou Rushdie?

History repeats itself... in a few ways

It is interesting how against a backdrop of rage over the recent cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed has sent the European Union scrambling to change media codes across Europe. The entire situation seems actually less shocking in terms of the protest and violence it ignited... if not familiar.

Citing further back to 1989, a book titled "The Satanic Verses" hit the world with its depictions of the Prophet Mohammed creating a stir amongst the global Islamic community. The 'stir' sent Salman Rushdie underground with a fatwa (religious call) issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran calling for Rushdie's death.

Nevertheless, the secular nation of India banned the book in effort to quell the rising Muslim protests. It is interesting to note the Islamic population of India is roughly about 220.72 million in comparison to all of Europe which is about 50.90 million.

I hardly think that the reaction is at all "shocking" to the level of violence and protests. If anything it is surprising that the Danish Newspaper didn't see this coming. When Rushdie published "The Satanic Verses", a Japanese and Italian translators of the book were stabbed, the Norwegian publisher of the book was killed, bookstores that carried the book at the University of California-Berkeley were firebombed, 5 individuals were shot outside the British embassy in Mumbai India....

Familiar imagery?

I don't condone the freedom of expression at all, otherwise this blog wouldn't even be written. But for the world to react in surprise and shock to the violence that erupted over "just a cartoon" should hardly be a surprise with similar history in the past.

A cartoon can actually be the simplest and most powerful form of communication. Take for example "The Satanic Verses" - as a form of propaganda, it is complex - a thick book full of imagery hidden by masses of word. It hardly is effective at spreading its message with the size and certain amount of thought needed to extrapolate the message.

A cartoon is by far more simple - a simple image is worth a thousand words. The image is very simple and understandable thus also making it very dangerous. The simplicity of the imagery makes it malleable and easily interpreted by the most fundamentalistic of Islamic societies. Plus the result of the wide-spread violence maybe because our world is now more interconnected... information reaches people faster, people have access to information over a thousand miles away. Internet, cellular phones, etc. In Rushdie's time it was just in the beginning of the 90's, with a more localized reaction stemming primarily in Iran and India (his homeland). But since this world that is more interconnected, word travels fast across the globe... and so will the reaction, like wildfire, will just continue at a rapid pace.

Surprising...? maybe. Inevitable?... yep

Iraq, Iran, Indonesia?

How the heck did we miss this.....?

Senator Kit Bond goes to visit tsunami hit areas and somehow sells $1 billion worth of military technology to nations that probably should be using their money to tend to their disaster-hit areas. The link between tsunami aid and military equipment sales is just beyond me. I suppose an F-15 can help many of those still suffering in Aceh province...

Actual Speech by Bond at the Heritage Foundation (added 2/11/06)