Oil, oil, oil!
That’s oil times three:
I purchased Omega-3 Oils: A Practical Guide today on my way home from the gym.
According to the book’s author, Donald Rudin, M.D., essential oils can reverse heart disease, boost immune function, improve mental health, promote healthy skin, and much, much more. Worth a look see.
Stopped to get my oil changed in my car, too. That included a new air filter and added coolant to keep my new-old Civic running smoothly. I owned a 1984 Accord that lasted me ten years, a 1995 Accord that reached 208,000 miles on the odometer before giving up the ghost, and now possess a 1996 Civic that I hope will make it all the way to the moon. Distance in miles? About 240,000 miles.
Guess the book was purchased in order to keep me running smoothly.
And I’ve had Iraq on my mind for, oh, the past five years! Here’s an interesting article regarding Iraq and oil.
I’m an art teacher. I can tell you all there is to know about red, yellow, and blue, but don’t look to me for an in-depth analysis of why we (the U.S.) invaded Iraq and why we (again, the U.S.) choose to stay there, but the following text certainly makes me uneasy.
Five years have passed, four-thousand U.S. military personnel have died, and three trillion dollars have been spent. For what?
Wait. I lied. It’s only about five-hundred billion U.S. dollars spent. And what does money mean compared to the lives lost?
I served five years in the U.S. Navy on a guided missile destroyer. The crew numbered about 300 personnel. During my time in the service I boarded the USS John F. Kennedy for a visit. The current body count would be equivalent to boarding that ship and finding everyone on board dead. My hometown was listed as having a population of about 12,000. Nice to go home and find a third of them dead. Again, for what? I would have preferred they lined those 4,000 U.S. military personnel up and marched them around the U.S. for the past five years instead of sending them overseas for an apparently unnecessary conflict.
Anyone care to educate me here? I have an open mind. Why did we go? And why should we stay?
And regardless of who takes office January 20, 2009, it doesn’t look like the situation is going to change. McCain, Obama, Clinton? They have all stated they believe it’s important to maintain a presence in Iraq.
March 29, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I always find your blogs so fascinating, Curt! :) I have no feedback for you in any of the discussed areas… but Just wanted to say hi. So … HI!! :D Have a good weekend!
March 29, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Hi. :) Wishing you a good weekend, too!
March 30, 2008 at 12:42 am
Hi Curt :) Interesting Blog! Since I’m not a US citizen I may be the wrong guy to answer your questions. And even if I was, I still wouldn’t have all the answers.
Anywho, the question is out there … in the entire world. The same questions you ask are on the lips of so many nationalities … both allies and people outside looking in. I heard that figure a couple of days ago on the news. 500 trillion Dollars. Wow! Just imagine how much domestic social welfare that kind of money could produce? Especially now where the American economy is so weak, people are losing their houses etc.
I know we can’t just close down the money flow going to the armed forces, and I know they’re doing a lot of good (sometimes). Taking on the troubles of the World upon our shoulders is a very warm and humane thought in it self, but when was it exactly our nations became so wealthy, that we could spend that kind of dough on foreign affairs? Back in the day, armed forces only went to war either to be defending themselves or to claim new land. The US wanted retaliation for 9/11 - that’s quite understandable. But where does that retaliation stop? How does a country or a president stop the kind of extremism that creates terrorists? They can’t. Extremists will always be here. It’s not like a gang that needs to be wiped out. It’s people like you and me who at some point of their life (or maybe even from childhood) get the mentality of the extreme. And no matter how much money we spend or how many bombs we drop, we can NEVER keep people from thinking (which sometimes will lead to acting) or having beliefs.
So what do I think the US, Canadians, Brits, Danish, French etc etc. soldiers should do? Should they be withdrawn just like that? Probably not… I don’t know. I just know it’s a mess! And I know the US AND other countries are using an absurd amount of money on a dubious cause.
March 30, 2008 at 2:23 am
No one has ALL the answers, but you are obviously and definitely the RIGHT guy to answer these questions.
I went to the one Web site and recounted the number of zeros. It’s over 500 B-as-in-Boy Billion, right? Good grief, don’t make it 500 T-as-in-Tiger Trillion.
Regardless, you are so correct on the “opportunity lost” so far as offering domestic social welfare rather than spending that unbelievable amount of money on alienating so many citizens of the world.
What would happen if they DID just turn off the faucet, cut the flow of $$$ to the war effort? Yes, they’re doing a lot of good and, unfortunately, those stories are not being told – I spoke with a civilian worker operating in Iraq who had wonderful things to say about rebuilding over there, however who blew it all up in the first place?
Hussein committed many crimes, but the execution apparently took place before the deposed president could be tried for all his crimes. Many Iraqis were left without that closure that may have come with a trial.
The U.S. had a surplus in 2001 versus the current economic situation faced. The U.S. had the sympathy and empathy of much of the world when the towers fell. The U.S. was no longer the “bully” but a fellow victim of horrifying extremist actions. Now? To many in the world, the U.S. might appear to be the new terrorist to be feared.
You’re right. Extremist behavior is not something you can stamp out like a small fire. Prohibition did not work for the United States in relation to alcohol and I doubt it can be successful when used in an attempt to prohibit THOUGHT. Extremists will not be defeated with physical force. That concept is insane, in my opinion. How do you physically threaten someone who is already willing to DIE for their cause?
What threat is that to someone willing to literally BLOW THEMSELVES UP?
I don’t know either, but I agree it’s a mess. And I’m sure you agree that the loss of life in this dubious cause is more absurd than the dollar amount being spent.
Thank you for your reply, Nic.
March 30, 2008 at 9:33 am
"What would happen if they DID just turn off the faucet, cut the flow of $$$ to the war effort?"
That’s a VERY good question! Many people might say: "Well, the war in Iraq may not be the success we hoped for, but now that we are there, we might as well finish the job. It would be devastating for the Iraqi people if we withdrew our troops" (that’s the same thing you hear from the politicians here in Denmark). But I can’t help but to think, that the ONLY difference a prolonged presence might have is more casualties! And that’s a horrifying thought.
When Sadam was gone, it seemed like the Iraqi people were ready for democracy, but in reality I don’t think the majority of people living in third world countries understand the true meaning of democracy. They’ve all been living in a society where religion and a dictator set the rules. In a lot of ways private families in these countries have the exact same set up - there’s the religion and the father. Democracy is just not something you give (or force upon) these people over night! Most likely a change like that will take generations to sink in. The question remains: Do we have the time, money and conscience (the lives of our soldiers) to keep feeding the dream of worldwide democracy?
March 30, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I wish I had a good answer for you Curt. Hell, I wish I had a good answer for myself. My only fears about turning off the faucet, so to speak, is that there are a lot of OUR men and women over there who would be left to fend for themselves. I question the role of the US as the world wide enforcer of public morality, considering all the problems we have here at home. Weak $$, homelessness, joblessness, a strain on the moral fiber of Americans in general… It feels like the tip of the iceberg. The flip side of these thoughts runs, if not us, then who? If not now, when? I just don’t know how we, as a leading nation in this world could stand by and just watch the atrocities occur. Its not just Iraq. Its Tibet, Darfur, and hundreds of other nightmares in this world. They’re the Nazi concentration camps of our day and age. How can we NOT be involved?
You always make me think my friend. You always take on the hardest topics. You’re one of the few social commentators I regularly read. Be well.
March 30, 2008 at 6:39 pm
But that’s just it: Darfur and Tibet are not sitting on the lake of oil mentioned in one of the articles linked to in my initial rambling post.
You’re right, how can we NOT be involved? But we can’t be the only ones taking action or it’s hopeless, imo.
And, I know you realize this already - I certainly hope you do - but I would never advocate pulling the rug out from under our military personnel. When I say turn off the faucet, I mean bring everyone home and close up shop over there. Iraqis will fend for Iraqis. I believe we’re simply "fuel on the fire" in that region. No pun intended and I’m not being… racist?
I believe Bush wanted to weaken OPEC by invading Iraq. I am reading the conspiracy theorist links, yeah, but some of it doesn’t sound so far away from the realm of possibility, greed, etc.
In related news: VP Cheney recently commented "So?" in response to a reporter’s comment that 2/3 of Americans are not in favor of U.S. involvement in Iraq.
SO? Wtf. Thanks, Dick.
A sincere thank you for the compliment, Leah. :)
April 3, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Forgive the crassness, but Dicks a dick. How he ever made it so far in his career amazes me. Yes, I do know what you meant about the faucet. I was listening to an interesting commentary won ‘World News Reports’, and they were talking about a citizen run group that offers medical care to the Iraqi people. They specified that they refuse all government $$ assistance, because the military (on both sides) are unilaterally distrusted. It was a feeling so pervasive that the group decided to work for funding through the private and religious sector. If thats how the citizenry feel, then exactly what do we hope to prove by remaining a force.
They had retired general after retired general on the air, and they were all virtually saying the same thing. Our participation must be conditional (having an endpoint specified). Without it, to the general population, we’re just another occupying force not to be trusted. There is not loyalty to the Iraqi Flag (symbolically speaking) only to the clans and factions to which the people belong.
The Iraqis need to be unified before we can "advise" them on how to run their country. Even then, we should only be there if we are WANTED. Otherwise, US troops continue to be walking human skeet for target practice, and a nice way for the ‘true believers’ to make it to the vestal virgins promised to the suicide bombers! (Do female suicide bombers get vestal studs??)
April 4, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I think it would have to be something else alliterative, Leah.
Hmm. Vesta is a Roman goddess, but that whole vestal virgin sounds pretty bad. If any of those priestesses "got lucky"? Why they reportedly buried them alive! Zoinks.
http://www.unrv.com/culture/major-roman-god-list.php
How about the ladies getting neptunian nincompoops? (Hey, it’s alliterative.) Neptune, at least according to that URL was the patron god of horses as well as the god of the sea. So a Neptunian Nincompoop would be hung like a horse yet stupid enough to be bossed around.
Ahem.
Okay, scratch that entire reply. My answer is "Yes."
Female suicide bombers get vestal studs.
September 27, 2008 at 10:03 am
In answer to your question about Iraq, have you heard of the USMC Major General Smedley Butler? He wrote a pamphlet entitled "War Is a Racket".
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.pdf
The pamphlet explains that some people stand to make big bucks every time war is waged. No matter which side prevails.
September 27, 2008 at 10:09 am
I appreciate the pdf file, but all I have to know is Cheney’s connection to know that people are making money off war. I’m sure that the Bush push for a bailout of Wall Street (execs) will somehow pay him a pretty penny as well.
Not that I’m a conspiracy theorist or anything. :p