Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Cognitive dissonance and attack in Syria

The news media is gearing up for EastMed War I, who knows what will actually
happen, but it seems strange/funny/laughable that the same people that chanted
no blood for oil, etc will soon be supporters in another war.
Yet again without UN support, but this time without congressional support.

http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-warns-against-military-action-in-syria/1737159.html
Lavrov said military intervention against the government  without the approval of the United Nations would be a “gross violation of international law.”
He made the comments at a press conference only hours after Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC that an international response to the Syrian crisis would be possible without unanimous U.N. Security Council backing.

I really don't care if the UN supports an action or is opposed, but after all of the problems
in the oughts, the only way we should fight a war is by having a vote of congress that
specifically says "War". The congressional vote supporting the Iraq war turned into farce
afterwards when most people that voted for it said "I didn't vote for war".

It might be the morally correct thing to do to destroy tyrants and avenge people killed by
WMD.  I certainly thought so during the Iraq war.  But our political system doesn't
support war to the knife that is not in our vital interests.  Just bombing from a distance
is immoral, and if we don't have the will and resources to do the whole thing, then it's
better to do nothing.  (the whole thing being the beginning and the aftermath.)

Armies break things and kill people.  If we aren't willing to have things broken and killed,
even by accident, then we shouldn't use the army unless it's in our interest.  The way that
should be judged is by a declaration of war.

That the opposition to the war in 2003 was just politics is shown by the same people
(democrats, French) saying UN approval isn't needed now, but it was needed then.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Schadenfreude

I've been away from blogging for awhile, I really don't have time to do anything but work or family time,
so games and reading for pleasure have gone out the window this past year.  (Time in the bathroom reading has expanded, is my 'organimismo' worse or am I just stealing reading time).

I can see some light at the end of the tunnel in the USA, it's just a glimmer but it is going to be getting stronger all year.  The real mistake the administration made was to spy on the AP, they could have spied on fox, or oppressed the tea party or smuggled guns to the zetas all they wanted, but spying on the AP might just crack open the door to a little bit of real journalism and that is all it would take to at least get Obamacare rolled back for a couple of years.   It was a dumb mistake, if they had left the AP alone they could have ground up Fox reporters to make their bread and it would have never been broadcast outside of Fox news and Rush Limbaugh  ("help us, they are grinding us up to make bread" ..."oh you racist right wingers at Fox")

So a small amount of reportage is happening and that is all to the good.  I doubt anyone will get duckwalked out of the whitehouse though, if the president can speak about the government like he's not in charge of the executive branch, just a regular Joe watching what the silling old government is doing and not be mocked, then the little bit of hope is just a little bit.