Teeth-grinding the news

Hitchens once told a joke about Noam Chomsky that his dentist told him he had a problem with teethgrinding. Chomsky couldn't understand it, so he was monitored during his sleep. Still no teethgrinding. Chomsky couldn't understand it until one day his wife noticed, that he was grinding his teeth exactly 20 minutes every day, when he was reading the New York Times.

The last days I've been feeling the same way, whenever i read about the Greek and to some extent the French elections. Each and every Danish establishment newspaper I've read had the same angle on it. Some were moderate about it and some just said it straight out.

They all claimed that there was a democratic problem in Greece because people were fleeing from the "moderate" parties and to the extremes. Mostly to the left but some also to the far right giving 21 seats in parliament to the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party. A story that received a lot of attention but that is far from the most important one. The most important being that the voters abandoned the pro austerity/pro Merkel parties because the budget cuts had been tearing the country to pieces. It's like a recipe for disaster and exactly the wrong way of going about solving the economic problems.

The main stream press all had the same attitude towards this. That democracy in Greece was broken and that the voters had better regain their mental balance and seek back towards the centre. Some of the more right leaning papers even said that the same was true for France.
This is of course obvious nonsense and contempt for democracy. What the Greek election really shows, is that their democracy is not as broken as the American for instance, and is capable of bringing systemic change when necessary.

Frankly I'm disgusted by the so called journalism of the main stream press. You could argue that it's not really surprising and I'd have to agree with that, but this show of disrespect for democracy and sucking up to the people interested in keeping status quo is truly amazing.

Hopefully this is just the first of many countries searching for an alternative route to repair the immense structural damage and solve the problems that globalised capitalism is causing

Today I woke up with these words in my head

Wars are in many cases, partly, started to distract people from the real and far more important conflict. The one between the oppressors and its opressed people.

This could be said in a simplified manner: Wars are started to distract people from the ruling class' exploitation of them.

Centralised power is bound to corrupt.

Have a nice day.

My Eyes Open Slightly at a Dewaniya

Rambling

     During my tenure in Kuwait, I had the pleasure of meeting many people and being exposed to a truly unfamiliar culture. While Kuwait is very much westernized, there are many area-specific and cultural traditions that are very much alive and well. Getting married? How about a low interest government loan to get you guys started. Sweet. Can you prove your lineage is "true" Kuwaiti? Bingo, bango... enjoy your yearly stipend from governmental oil profits. These sorts of courtesies are not extended to the those that cannot prove their lineage, regardless of their tenure in the country (this includes some nomadic tribes that have been in the area for hundreds of years).

[ah, see... there I go rambling far away from my initial point]

The Conversation

     Ah yes, the actual initial point of the post. One of the area's cultural norms (common throughout Islamic lands) is extending hospitality to your guests. From Saladin allowing water and food into the Holy Land during its siege to the present, that tradition continues to this day. I had the pleasure of being invited to a Dewaniya with my comrades several times. It was a very welcoming experience and was extremely enjoyable. Oh, and let me tell you, the food was as fantastic as the sound of a Maserati's engine. (For those of you non-automotive types, it's a fricken' beautiful noise).

     During my third such casual Dewaniya I spoke at some length with a retired Kuwaiti Major (I think that is the equivalent rank --- my memory is a bit foggy). You and the host will usually politely avoid issues that may disrupt the scene, but I had a question [albeit a simple question] that had always begged to be asked. The dinner was beginning to wind down and me and a fairly reserved older gentleman were sitting by the coals. He had served during the invasion of Kuwait until several years after the U.S. involvement in the Gulf War.

     "I certainly don't mean to be a bother, but I am truly curious... how do you... how do you feel about Americans? How do the Kuwaitis feel about us? Do not worry, I take no offense if it is negative, I am just truly curious." I asked after some small talk and over a cup of Turkish coffee (holy crap that stuff was strong).

     He furrowed his brow a bit, looked at his coffee, looked up and then leaned forward towards me. "Well, it depends on the person. Some do not like you, this is true. Many like you and many are somewhere in between." he said, pausing for a minute to look off into the distance. His mind was wandering a though I'm not sure what for. It was clear he was thinking, perhaps trying to find a polite way to express his thoughts and also to painfully remember some of his experiences. "I cannot speak for all of Kuwait necessarily, I can speak for myself. I personally like the U.S. I went to college there and I enjoyed my experience." He pauses for a moment again as the servant freshened our cups.

     He continues, "You see --- I truly appreciated the U.S. when they came. When they came to our defense against Sadam that is. The base you stay at is --- I lost many dear friends in that war. If you go along that wall, you will find bullet holes. Some of my friends were lined up there." He pauses again, presses his lips together and places his coffee on the table. "I was happy that you came, but the U.S. came far too late. I lost many friends and some family before the U.S. finally came to our aid. So I greatly appreciate the U.S. on one hand, but I wish they could have taken action much sooner. I think that sums up the opinion in a way. We were glad when you came, but you came too late." He wouldn't say it because he was polite, but the rest of the opinion would read something along the lines of "and many wish that now you would go."

     He genuinely enjoyed our company and was very frank and forward in conversation. All around an excellent host as he had always been.  The points he made in the conversation were from an angle I had never been aware of, due in part to my age and the war occurring when I was quite young. It was like he was saying that he likes the U.S. and many even want to like the U.S., but sometimes we make it pretty dang difficult to be liked.

My Thoughts

     U.S. involvement outside its borders is not always bad. In truth, I think many times the greater desire is truly to help an oppressed people [I'm not stating it's necessarily true of the politicians]. Like many great intentions however, the failure occurs in the execution.

     One of the few times we can justify going to battle and we take too dang long getting to it.  Cursed for our action.  Cursed for our inaction.

Rag's Intro

Prologue

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

     Some of you on this board know me, but some of you may not.  I guess a "short" introduction is in order.  Where to start... where to start... ah yes!  I am a stereotypical American.  I can tell this is true, because I don't think I am a stereotypical American --- which is --- stereotypical I suppose.  I am a man of strong convictions but that is not to say I am a man stuck in my ways.  I am opinionated.  I am not terribly orthodox.  I tend to ramble on.  I use the word "I" far too much in this paragraph.  The biggest flaw that may be evident on this blog is my habit of typing in a near-stream-of-consciousness style that can be quite difficult to follow at times.  For the lackluster syntax and numerous grammatical errors, I apologize ahead of time.  May Google's wondrous and squiggly red line save us all!

My Past
     The possible background and bias my opinions may express in the future are the product of my environment.  I know this.  So the short version of my background is that I was born into a loving but troubled family.  I am the oldest of numerous siblings who share the same formerly-drug-addled and heavy-handed parents.  I have experienced the gifts and curses of foster care, adoption, social services, welfare, public education, public healthcare, state/federal employment, community college, the military, the South, the North, and everywhere between.  I am thankful for all of it.  I am especially thankful for any and all hardships I have had.  If I grown up in a "healthy" middle-class household I highly doubt I would be as appreciative of my present position.  I don't frown upon those that have; I simply think that I personally would have ended up a spoiled little rodent of a man.  With that, I also recognize how much worse it could have been and how terrible it *is* for many people every day around the globe.

Politics
     I am neither republican nor democrat and instead prefer whomever at least appears to be the better civil leader for my town/state/country.  I vote for that individual regardless if they have a chance of making into their respective office.  While I understand its existence, I despise the party system.  I would casually say I stray a bit more to the left than the average American and have generally voted more for left-leaning candidates.  Like many of us here, I do feel quite disillusioned with the vast majority of the political system(s) here (and elsewhere).  It is despicable that the selection of viable candidates generally boils down to whomever services major campaign contributors the best and wears the most delightful political mask for the public...  I will stop myself here before I ramble on for a hundred or so pages.  We will continue on politics later!

Closure and Thought for the Day:
     I can wrap my head around a democrat not liking the republican party and vice versa... but something in my head just thinks it's absolutely hilarious when "news" broadcasters or some conservative just absolutely spews hatred about "Progressives."

The linguistic/comprehensive portion of my brain screams the notion that "This man/woman/both just absolutely hates progress!"

I know they are referring to the "other party(s)" but... I don't think that part of my brain is terribly incorrect with its assumption.  On most occasions, that politician really doesn't like progress.

Thursday night...

So I went out with a couple of friends Thursday night.

We'd been eating and drinking heavily at my place with my wife and a friend of hers.
I don't remember all that much from that night. I was extremely intoxicated. The young guys I invited over had brought a nice bottle of rum. After drinking a bit of that, we went to the club in town where the party was.

My wife and her friend went home early and left me and my boys at the club.  At some point I went outside for a minute to get some fresh air and I ran into a Turkish guy. We chatted for a bit and somehow started to talk about poitics. He flat out said what I've been thinking for a while: That he wasn't really interested in politics here in Denmark, because it didn't matter who you vote for. They areall the same.

I've been writing earlier about the similarities between the Danish election 2011 and Obama's election 2008. Now the second round of the French election is coming up and it looks like the "socialist" Francois Hollande is going to win it. The question is whether his characteristics are the same as Obama/Thorning's.

I fear he is another Trojan Horse. What i mean by that, is that there seems to be a trend that the so called left wing's candidates are nothing more than a handpuppet for industry and the financial sector. In Denmark it seems like you can't really become a serious contender for prime minister and governing unless you sell out completely andbuy into the German type austerity instead of doing what you're supposed to do as a social democrat and use Keynesian measures to repair a broken economy. In the US it's even worse. The super pacs and corporate citizenship has turned democracy on it's head completely. It would be comical if it wasn't so dangerous and sad.

If Hollande on the other hand turns out to be the real deal and not the same type of sellout pseudo-socialist as Thorning and Obama, he could be the start of that move to the left in Europe that we so desperately need. If I was religious, I would pray for him.

Have a nice weekend

It is often said that the problem with democracy, is that it counts heads, but not what is in them.

http://www.esmparty.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy#The_Meritocracy_Party

We need these ideas popularized in the states.

Mayday Radio

So I was talking with Democracy for Dummies...

Hey guys

I haven't been writing a lot lately. Sorry for that. I willbe picking up pace agin. I've been tending to some matters in my personal life and also following the stuff going on at OWS rather closely. Pretty interesting.

I was chatting with Democracy for Dummies and we had this little exchange, which made me chuckle, so I thought I'd share it:

The Artist: I hope that we are more rationally thinking than monkeys.

 

Democracy for Dummies: We're not. We're just very fancy monkeys..

 

Have a nice day :)

Live from OWS

Nothing to see here... Carry on :)