Reflections on the Bangsa Moro

For the fourth consecutive day, Israel attacked Gaza with missiles from its fighter jets killing hundreds of Palestinians and wounding thousands.

Israel claims that they are doing so in retaliation for the World War II – vintage rockets fired by the Palestinians into Israel proper. From the hundreds of rockets fired, less than 5 were killed in Israel.

The Israelis, in their infamous double talk, claims they are not fighting the Palestinians but merely the Hamas party. But the Palestinians voted the Hamas into power in a clean, democratic election.

WHERE ARE THE ARABS?

How can the rich Arabs, especially the Gulf Arabs, sleep in their huge soft beds and downy pillows knowing fully well that their brothers in Gaza are being slaughtered by the Israelis.

The people in Gaza are prisoners in their own land. They could not cross the borders. And worse, for almost two years now, they could hardly get any food and basic necessities because of the Israeli blockade. They have been under siege for so long. The international humanitarian organizations have been calling the world’s attention to the plight of the people in Gaza to no avail.

Hamas is justified in sending their antiquated rockets to Israel, if only to attract the world’s attention.

ISRAEL’S ENEMY IS NOT HAMAS

When Egypt’s Anwar Sadat signed the peace treaty with Israel’s Menahem Begin, it was a great betrayal of the Arab people. After Egypt, Israel made peace with Jordan and other Arab states. The poor Palestinian Arabs were left to fend for themselves.

But the Palestine problem is not just a Palestinian problem. It is an Arab problem. There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation or Jordanian nation or Kuwaiti or Saudi nation. These are just socio-demographic constructions of the West. There is only the Arab nation, which is a part of the Muslim Nation or Ummah.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait and the Americans were calling for Iraqis to return to the border, former British Prime Minister Edward Heath asked, ‘Which border?’. He explained that he was one of those who created those ‘borders’.

The Divide-and-Conquer strategy has been used very wisely by the Israelis. They make peace with some Arabs while making war with others (Lebanon, Palestine). In their usual duplicitous way, Israel attacked Gaza while pretending to negotiate a peace pact with Syria. As the Foreign Minister of Turkey Ali Babacan said, “"To make war on the Israeli-Palestinian track and at the same time make peace on the Israeli-Syrian track — these two cannot go together." (Israel bombs Gaza in ‘all-out war’ on Hamas)

TIME FOR ARABS TO ACT

With America and Europe in the midst of recession, the Arabs, especially the oil-rich ones, are in a very powerful position. In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War (the 4^th Arab-Israeli war), the Arabs used their oil as weapons. They announced that they were not selling oil to any country supporting Israel (like the US and the Philippines).

Today, they can still use the same weapon plus one more. They have the money – trillions of dollars in reserves. They can remove their massive investments in the West. They can stop trading with countries supporting Israel. They can even stop employing people from countries supporting Israel.

The rich Arab leaders must act soon before their citizens will throw them out of their mansions. These Muslim leaders must be reminded of what Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam said in his inaugural speech. The Caliph declared:

“Behold me charged with the cares of government. I am not the best among you; I need all of your advice and all of your help. If I do well, support me; if I err, counsel me. To speak the truth to one who is commissioned to rule is allegiance, to conceal it is treason.

In my sight, the powerful and the weak are alike, and to both I wish to render justice.

As I obey Allah and His Prophet, obey me. If I neglect the Laws of God and of the Prophet, I have no more right to your obedience.”

It is high time for the Muslim peoples of the world to tell their leaders to stop playing footsies with the leaders of the West and help their own people, especially the weak and the oppressed like the poor Palestinians who have been suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune since the birth of the nation-state called Israel.

 Mr. George W. Bush, "The Decider", was shooed away in Baghdad with a couple of shoes. Just like driving away an unwanted alley cat or dog, Iraqi TV journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi, threw his pair of shoes at the US president during Mr. Bush’s press conference in Baghdad on Dec. 14, 2008. According to news reports, just after the speeches by Bush and the Iraqi Prime minister, al Zeidi took off his shoe and threw it at Mr. Bush exclaiming: "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog". (Chicago Tribune, see the video here,too)

 Before the Secret Service agents got to him, al-Zeidi threw his other shoe, this time exclaiming, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

Just before the shoe-throwing incident, Mr. Bush again, just like Mr. McCain during the US presidential elections, boasted of the "success of the Surge".  

 I am so proud of Mr. Muntadar al-Zaidi. He has shown the world the real sentiments of the ordinary Iraqi people. Millions of people in the world, including most Christian Filipinos, still believe that Bush and America "saved Iraq for Democracy."

 I must say, Mr. Bush has pretty quick reflexes. I know he is quite good at dodging questions. I didn’t know he is also good at dodging shoes. I wonder if Madame Bush has given him a lot of practice.

Mr. & Ms. magazine is widely known for its fearless journalism during the last years of the Marcos dictatorship. For more than 30 years, the magazine survived the ups and downs of the magazine business. The founding publisher and editor of the magazine is a highly respected journalist and a winner of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism.

However, the latest issue of the magazine  (Sept-Oct 2008) has truly degraded and even disgraced the name of Mr. & Ms. magazine. It is filled with almost nothing but advertorials. Its cover story, which is really a PR piece, talks about an award-giving body in the Philippines, which is described as “evolving as the greatest global peace award today.” Wow, talk about hyperbole!

I don’t mind the bad English or the wrong grammar. But I can’t tolerate plagiarism, especially blatant and shameless plagiarism.

PURE PLAGIARISM

The magazine’s Lifestyle Editor Leslie Michelle Co’ article Global Warming: Let’s do something before it’s too late, Ms. Co blatantly plagiarized whole paragraphs from other articles.

From the World Wildlife Fund article Global Warming to Cause Global Hunger, says WWF at http://www.wwf.org.ph/newsfacts.php?pg=det&id=72, she copied the ff.:

“These gases emanate from burning fossil fuels, unwise agricultural practices and extensive, unsustainable land-use. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are now at the highest in 650,000 years - prompting scientists to link this with the worsening global warming crisis.

Left unabated, this may warm the Earth by as much as 6.3°C in the next century alone. If this happens, it will spell catastrophe for the planet….

 

The Philippine Situation

Communities in both developed and developing countries are already suffering from these impacts, and small island nations, such as the Maldives and Tuvalu are planning evacuations because of the serious threat of rising sea levels. The Philippines is no exception.

Last year alone, the country was subjected to a slew of destructive storms, floods and droughts. Material damage ran into the billions. The human toll was far greater. Massive waves swept away thousands of homes in Tawi-Tawi, Mindanao and the Visayas. Closer to the capital, EDSA’s impermeable billboards lay toppled. And in our very own backyards, centuries-old trees were ripped apart. Currently the country experiences abnormal weather in the form of a cold spell. PAGASA data indicates that extreme weather events have been increasing here over the last four years.

WWF has been working to stop and eventually reverse the worsening effects of climate change in the Philippines and throughout the world.

Immediate Action Needed

Raf Senga, WWF Climate Change Manager says, “The government must take this opportunity for immediate and positive action to avert the damaging consequences of climate change. Mitigation is only one part of the equation. An adaptation response should be crafted and set in place without delay. Extreme weather is not some future forecast – it is happening here, now. If we are to make it through this with minimal damage to our country – our government must act now. “

Rather than spending scarce resources in a never-ending cycle to repair damage, WWF calls for a policy of prevention - a proactive and strategic solution that can effectively deal with the increasing global temperatures caused by rising carbon dioxide levels in the environment.

Lack of Food

“Food scarcity is a real danger,” says WWF CEO Lory Tan. “40 million Filipinos rely on the sea for food. Coral bleaching, algal blooms and marine acidification brought about by global warming will definitely take its toll on our declining fisheries.”

Rice too, might be in short supply. Tan says, “It takes 4700 litres of water to produce a kilo of rice. We face a drought this 2007. No water, no rice. No rice - no food.”

Climate Change is here. There is no longer any doubt. The challenge we face is to help reverse the trends humankind has created over one hundred years, in the next decade. We are all going to have pay for it, sooner or later. Science seems to indicate that, if we act decisively, collectively and soon, we can still manage global climate. The sooner our nation acts on this, the cheaper it will be. We cannot afford to wait.”

From The New York Times’  Global Warming  article (at http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html), she copied:

“…scientific evidence that the release of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from smokestacks, tailpipes and burning forests has played a central role in raising the average surface temperature of the earth by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900.”

“…The latest report … predicted that the global climate is likely to rise between 3.5 and 8 degrees Fahrenheit if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere reaches twice the level of 1750. By 2100, sea levels are likely to rise between 7 to 23 inches, it said, and the changes now underway will continue for centuries to come.”

…In recent months, business groups have banded together to make unprecedented calls for federal regulation of greenhouse gases. The subject had a red-carpet moment when former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," was awarded an Oscar;…

…the Supreme Court made its first global warming-related decision, ruling 5 to 4 that the Environmental Protection Agency had not justified its position that it was not authorized to regulate carbon dioxide.”

 

From Canada Free Press’  Climate Extremism: The Real Threat to Civilization (at http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/global-warming072007.htm), she copied:

 

“The exploitation of climate science for purely political goals is occurring throughout the developed world.  For example, politicians in Canada have started to ban inexpensive and convenient technologies such as light bulbs, coal fired electricity generation and used oil heating to "stop climate change."  They can’t show how the alternatives being promoted will actually help the environment – we are expected to simply believe that such sacrifices for the climate will benefit us all, even if real pollution levels rise, food prices increase as agricultural land is converted to biofuels production and millions of birds are cut to pieces by wind turbines.  ‘Believe’ is the key word here, not ‘think’.

Even the United States, previously one of the last bastions of common sense in climate wars, is being swept up in this dangerous movement. Besides the rise of ex-Vice President Al Gore to the status of climate change ’superstar’… To date, (the movement) has attracted over 77,000 endorsers.”

Poor Ms. Co, she did not even realize that what she quoted was from an anti-Climate Change article.

From Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming) Ms. Co got her definition of Global Warming: “Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century.”

CRIME OF PLAGIARISM

In the University of the Philippines, the maximum penalty for plagiarism is expulsion. There should be a mechanism in the media industry to punish those who plagiarize.

Plagiarism is pure dishonesty and fraud. The writer passes off other people’s writing as his/her own.

In this example, Leslie Michelle Co, who claims to be a beauty expert with a magazine column on Beauty, tries to pass herself off as an environmental journalist. She quoted sources as if she interviewed them herself. She even quoted lines from the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” as if she had seen the documentary.

This is so shameful. Nakakahiya.

I am so sorry for the Mr. & Ms. magazine. It does not deserve to have such a shameful fate. The issue of plagiarism is more than enough to show the depths the magazine has fallen into. The new custodians of the magazine have brought it to the pits. I hope the old owners will do something about this.

According to news reports, Saudi King Abdullah declared in a speech in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the Eid al-Adha: “ Today we are in need of dialogue within the Muslim Ummah itself…sedition, ignorance, and fanaticism constitute obstacles that are threatening the hopes of Muslims.”

According to As-sharq Al-awsat, “King Abdulaziz, stressed that terrorism, which is threatening the entire world, and which is being attributed to Muslims alone, ‘is caused by extremists who represent no one but themselves even if they put on an Islamic character. Islam is innocent of their acts.’”

ISLAM IS INNOCENT BUT THE ARAB KINGS AND SHEIKHS ARE NOT

Of course Islam is innocent. But the Saudi King and his royal cohorts in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf are not. They are GUILTY of bowing down to the whims and caprices of George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Gordon, Merkel and Olmert and the other leaders of the Western world. They are guilty of not protesting, and even supporting the killing of millions of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, including in Mindanao, in the name of “the War on Terror”.

If indeed  the "extremists who represent no one but themselves", then why do millions of Muslims in the world have to suffer? For a handful of Saudi Arabs who ALLEGEDLY "attacked" America in 9/11, why do whole populations in Afghanistan and Iraq have to suffer? Why should Muslims all over the world be held suspect and their human rights trampled upon in the name of "Security"?

These nouveau riche Arabs who now call themselves kings and princes simply amass wealth for their personal gains, give no assistance to hundreds of millions of Muslims in the world who are steeped in poverty or are living under an oppressive majority or are under constant suspicion of being “terrorists”.

These Arab rulers continue to shore up the flagging economy of the West by massive investments in the US and Europe. They hardly invest in fellow Muslim countries like Pakistan and Indonesia or even in fellow Arab but poor countries like Egypt and Tunisia.

WAR ON TERROR IS WAR ON ISLAM

There is no mistaking about it; the War on Terror is a War on Islam. George W. Bush called it a CRUSADE. But the Saudi King and his clan, including his relatives the Bin Ladens (they are related by affinity) and the ruling clans in the Gulf countries already chose which side they belong. They chose the side of George W. Bush and his sidekick, Tony Blair. The Saudi King, therefore, has no business in calling for a “Dialogue within the Ummah”.

Because of their huge money reserves, these Gulf Arab rulers are very powerful. In today’s financial crisis, they could make or break Western economies. But instead of using their power to promote Muslim interests and the human rights of Muslims all over the world, they keep quiet and let the West’s financial brokers do what they want with their (Arab oil) money.

Perhaps it would be more proper for the Saudi King to first call a Dialogue within his extended clan, which would include Osama Bin Laden himself. After that, he could call a Dialogue with other Arab Gulf countries’ rulers and preferably do some soul-searching.

They should ask themselves, are they still part of the Ummah?

The country’s only oil company, Petron, has now been completely privatized. A country that is perpetually in an oil crisis, a state-owned oil company could be of big help.

PETRON has always been a cash cow. In an oligopolistic market, Petron enjoys at least a third of the market share.

But cash cows for the government are not enough. The incumbent occupants of Malacanang and their cohorts are always looking for deals to make their commissions. And so in the 1990s, Petron was semi-privatized with 40% of its shares sold to Saudi Aramco.

In a footnote to my post Knowledge Society - Oil Deregulation(April 2006),  I wrote:

“It is interesting to note that Petron was sold to Saudi Aramco for about 14 Billion pesos (most of which were easily recouped by Aramco after the IPO which had the stocks’ price soaring almost three times as much as the buying price of Aramco.) And just a year later, PNOC was ordered to infuse 10 billion pesos (of people’s money) to the OPSF so that it can be distributed among the three oil companies. Thus, the Filipino peolple and government not only lost control of the very profitable Petron, it also gave back most of the money it got from selling the company. Truly illogical!”

In the same post, writing about the Oil Deregulation Law, I wrote:

“The Philippines was fortunate to have a national oil company like the ones in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, which have had quite an experience competing with multinationals. Such experience would have proved valuable for the country when deregulation of the industry came. However, for some reasons, PNOC’s refining and distribution arm, Petron, was privatized some years ago. This left the Filipino public purely at the hands of “market forces.” And the oil downstream market is far from perfect.**

Coupled with the fact that the Filipino people do not have an oil company that could compete with the transnationals is the presence of an oil deregulation law that promotes the perpetuity of the existing oligopoly.”

Early this year, A financial management firm from London, Ashmore Group, wanted to buy ARAMCO’S share of Petron. 

This is my post in March 2008, GOVERNMENT SHOULD BUY BACK PETRON:

“Ashmore Group, a London-based investment fund is offering to buy 40 % of Petron shares held by Saudi Aramco.

 PNOC, which owns the other 40%, holds the right of first refusal. And it should exercise that right.

With rising oil prices, this is the best opportunity for the country to take back its only oil company.

It is very important for an emerging economy like the Philippines to have some control over its oil downstream industry. Malaysia has PETRONAS, Thailand has PTT. Both are huge factors in their countries’ progress.

SOCIAL ISSUE 

Ashmore is an investment group and is only interested in profits. The country cannot expect to get anything from it, save for taxes, perhaps.

With Saudi Aramco, the country could ask for a supply guarranty. And being state-owned, there is room for diplomatic negotiations.

CASH COW

Petron is a cash cow. And the government needs a cash cow. If it own 80% of it, then there will be more cash.

GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT DEALS

If Petron will become Government-controlled, it could negotiate for better oil deals with oil-producing countries. Then, it could even give greater competition to the two oil majors in the country as well as the so-called new players.

For those clamoring for a repeal of the de-regulation law, the buy-back of Petron will be just as good, if not better.

Regulation is ALWAYS bad in a corrupt regime. De-regulation gives the market forces a chance. Although the Philippine style de-regulation is actually only a semi-deregulation or even an anti-deregulation. It merely strengthens the status quo; i.e., maintains the power of the majors.

If the government buys back Petron, there will still be room for the private oil companies and at the same time, the government can act through Petron in ways that would best serve the needs of the Filipinos.

Typical of the Philippine government, instead of buying back Petron, Ms. Arroyo immediately endorsed it.

I wonder how much was the "commission"?.

I am sure that ASMORE’s purchase of Petron shares made it one of the few British financial firms to remain afloat during this financial storm. And just to prove how profitable Petron is, Ashmore is now buying (it’s a done deal) the government’s 40% share.

I wonder how much was the "commission" then?

And to prove that PETRON is such a CASH COW, SAN MIGUEL BEER wants to buy a big chunk of Ashmore’s shares.

If big international firms want PETRON, why does the government want it sold? Just for the "commission"? 

Now that even the bastions of De-regulation and Free Market economies like the US and UK are calling for more Regulation and a more "managed" economy, a strong state-owned oil company like PTT and / or PETRONAS  should be the order of the day for the Philippines to help the Filipinos from the ambiguities of the market economy and the perennial "oil crisis".

The Filipino public should not complain about oil deregulation and high pump prices. After all, they allowed their oil company to be sold.

 ===========

Petron sale to ease budget deficit

 San Miguel buying spree: first Meralco, now Petron

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the lady champion for State Terrorism, is now in India in the Bush-Cheney Gang’s  last ditch effort to promote Fear and Anxiety in the world and maintain the US miltary-industrial complex’s hold on its own and other countries’ security policies and programs and these countries’ commitment to purchase US military, intelligence and security goods and services.

In a New Delhi press conference, Dr. Rice said, " "Whether there is a direct al-Qaida hand or not, this is clearly the kind of terror in which al-Qaida participates." So now, a group does not have to be "believed to have links with al-Qaeda" to be considered public enemy no. 1.

I suppose the Bush-Cheney gang realized that if they continue to portray all rebel groups in the world to be "linked to al-Qaeda", then people would just not believe it. How can all rebel groups in the Muslim world be linked to al-Qaeda whose leader is hiding in the mountain fastness of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border? If this rich Saudi Arab is the leader of this giant terror network, then why are his rich relatives — brothers, sisters, uncles and cousins — freely doing business with the Americans, Europeans and others? How can he be a great leader of so many in the Muslim world yet not of his own family?

Rice’s mission to India is to sow intrigue and promote conflict between the two countries (India and Pakistan). Failing that, she would instill fear between the two so they will support American terror policies and program.

Really, the Bush-Cheney Gang should cease and desist promoting their Fear and Terror commodities. The world now knows better. We are now in a new era. The Bush wars are over.

The Bush-Cheney Gang should re-focus their sights to domestic affairs. America is now in Recession. It might even sink into another Great Depression. Dick Cheney could re-invent himself as the new John Dillinger while Bush and Rice could be the new Bonnie and Clyde.

 See post: Mumbai Attacks and Joe Biden’s Warning

During the last days of the US presidential elections, good old Joe Biden couldn’t stop himself from telling his party’s supporters to give all the help they can – not for the elections but AFTER the elections –  to would-be president Obama because he would be immediately “tested” with a “generated crisis”. He told his audience: “Mark my words!”

That generated crisis is the Attack on Mumbai.

From the news reports, it looks like it is another False Flag Terrorism masterminded by the cabal that controls the Bush-Cheney administration which closely adheres to Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations theory.

WHO WILL GAIN?

All viewers of the top TV series CSI, Law and Order, etc. know that the first question crime investigators ask is “What’s the motive?”

Big Business from the military-industrial complex got and is getting huge windfall from the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions. These companies – oil, security, construction, etc. – got and are getting hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues, even overcharging the US government by as much as 1000% as reported by investigative journalists. Plus, these firms act as consultants to other countries as well. They would not just give up all these revenues and profits without a fight. Thus, they have the motive for the crime.

And the best weapon would be again FEAR brought about by another false flag terroristic act.

False Flag Terrorism is terrorism done or masterminded by one group but blamed entirely on another group.

TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE

The attack on Mumbai is like hitting two birds with one stone. The two birds are India and Pakistan. The US and Western Europe are in Recession. (The US just officially declared yesterday that the US has been in recession since December 2007.) The major emerging economic markets – India and China – are challenging Western economic dominance.

If Bush and company claim that the destruction of the Twin Towers is a challenge to the American (and Western) way of life, then the decline of Western economic dominance and the rise of Chinese and Indian economic dominance would be a far, far greater danger to the US and the West.

By sowing terror on India’s financial capital, Mumbai, the perpetrators of the attack hope that foreign investors would be petrified with fear and will abandon Mumbai and thus bring the collapse of Indian economy.

PAKISTAN

When Russia invaded Afghanistan, Pakistan became America’s best friend. In exchange for a few billion dollars worth of aid, Pakistan provided the base to recruit and train Muslims from all over the world (including Mindanao) to fight the Russians in Afghanistan. The American government and the CIA, together with Pakistan, convinced Arab governments to help finance the scheme. Osama Bin Laden, a son of a Saudi billionaire businessman was chosen as the CIA fund-raiser.

When the Afghani rebels known as the Taliban (students) won and forced the Russians out of their country, USA and the West celebrated.

But Pakistan had a longer-term agenda. It continued to support the Taliban, whom they created.

After 9/11, Bush, Cheney and company decided that the fall guys for the 9.11 event would be their former allies — the Taliban and the former CIA fund-raiser, Osama bin Laden. (In Michael Moore’s documentary, George W. Bush was shown meeting a Taliban delegation in the US just a month or so before 9/11.)

However, Pakistan was a thorn in Bush’s plans. Pakistan created the Taliban so it could not just abandon them. The price has to be quite considerable. So the US promptly paid / gave Pakistan a huge some of money / aid.

But President Musharraf continued to maintain ties with the Taliban and their allies in Pakistan. This enraged the Americans. They thought that the Pakistani president would be a docile lapdog. And so the US organized the return of the opposition party leaders – former Pakistani Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto – and orchestrated the fall of Musharraf. And so, Musharraf had to go.

In the last days of Bush in the White House, his group wants to show the world that the threat from Bin Laden is as strong as ever. The CIA (as reported by CNN and BBC) conducted bombing operations in the border villages in Pakistan. The Pakistani government, although partly installed by the CIA, refused to take the bombings sitting down. They protested the violation of their sovereignty and threatened to take action.

Obviously, those who masterminded the attack on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists hope to create conflict between India and Pakistan. This would weaken both countries and would be punishment for a recalcitrant Pakistan and an emerging economic rival that is India. It is like hitting two birds with one stone.

Besides, India and Pakistan are not like Iraq and Afghanistan. They can stand up to the Americans. So, the good schemers at the CIA probably thought that “if they can’t lick ’em, let ‘em lick each other”.

US KNEW OF THE ATTACK

The US just announced that it had informed the Indian government in October that a sea-borne attack against hotels and other establishments in Mumbai was being planned in a month or so.

Of course the Americans knew in advance. They probably planned the whole thing themselves – just like the “sinking” of USS Maine (which brought the Spanish-American War), Gulf of Tonkin PT boats attack (which started the Vietnam War), the Pearl Harbor attack (which made the US enter World War II) and the 9/11 attack (which led to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the start of the so-called War on Terror).

CLIMATE OF FEAR

The military-industrial cabal that has been lording over the Bush, Jr. presidency needs to maintain its control.

When Barack Obama started his run for the presidency, he called for an end to the climate of fear and attacked Hilary Clinton et al for supporting the Iraq invasion. As the campaign progressed, he was slowly changing his tune. Now, he will re-appoint Bush’s Defense Secretary, former CIA Director Robert Gates. The man, who promised to bring Change to America and probably the world, has a former TOP SPY and Bush’s Defense Chief in his team. Incredible!

THE WORLD NEED NOT FEAR

Whatever the Fear merchants do, the world is much the wiser now. India and Pakistan will not take the bait. They know better.

Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations doctrine has been discredited. The Americans themselves chose a hyphenated American (African-American) for its President.

The Western (American and European) way of life is indeed under siege – but not by terrorists. It is under siege by the abusers of their economic (capitalistic) doctrines. Adam Smith had warned that Capitalism encourages Greed. The Americans and Europeans (and some Westernized people like many Filipinos) idolized the Gordon Gekko character in the film, Wall Street. Gekko (played by Michael Douglas) declared “Greed is Good!” and let loose the greedy people in the West who made money out of thin air through the economic principles of their capitalistic system like the Fractional Reserve Banking principle which allows banks to accept money from the public and lend out ten times as much from that money (thus creating ten times as much [commercial] money from a certain amount of [central bank] money). From this 300 (or so)  - year old principle came other concepts like second or third mortgages and the creation of a huge derivatives market dealing in financial instruments whose values are derived from the value of something else.

Incidentally, I used to have a sexagenarian office colleague who kept on telling me that he admired people like John D. Rockefeller who made “real money” unlike Bill Gates whose worth is measured in “paper money”, as he called it. Gates’ worth, he said, goes up and down depending on the stock market.

Indeed, as the stocks and financial markets in the Western world go down, the real worth of these countries go down as well. We are now witnessing the Decline and Fall of America and the West.

SHOULD THE WORLD BE AFRAID?

The real danger now to the world is the possibility that these falling empires would decide to strike fear and terror to their perceived enemies or to one another. They have, after all, weapons of mass destruction – the nuclear bombs.

As the saying goes, “Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.”