Friday, May 4, 2007
I'm Back!
Hello again to anyone that reads this blog. So I'm back now, and I hope to start this blog up again. I start working on my thesis in a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have things to write about. But for now here is something I've been thinking about for the last few days.
I was in Washington DC this past week and the first day I was there I saw the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. At the Korean War Memorial there is a wall that has the words, "Freedom is not Free". This quote really bothers me. Freedom is something that should be free. I understand that there are places on this earth where people are not free. But those are not the places that the US go to fight, instead they choose places that are strategic for them. Afghanistan was a war that was motivated by the feeling of revenge, and justifiably so. Iraq on the other hand was a war for so many different things, but not one of them, the freedom of Americans. Saddam Hussien never posed a serious threat to American freedom as in evidenced by the fact that there were no weapons of mass distruction. Iran and their nuclear program pose a much larger threat to American freedom than Iraq ever did. The problem with that is that the US cannot go into Iran because the threat is actually too high.
If freedom is not free than the Americans should be fighting the countries that are an actual danger to the US. Iran is probably the American's biggest threat. If they are able to have nuclear weapons then the balance of power in the Middle East will shift dramatically. Because the US has entered a war of attrition against terrorism that they cannot seem to even be winning, they are spread far too thin to be able to realistically mount a resonable response to the Iran question. Aside from the potential nuclear consequences, Iran also has the ability to drastically shift the global economy. If Iran was provoked, they could pepper the Strait of Hormuz, which is the main artery for Saudi, Iraqi, Kutwaiti, Bahraini, UAE and Iranian oil, with mines. These countries are all OPEC members and produce the majority of the world's oil and by putting mines in the strait it would stop the flow of oil to the rest of the world. This could throw the world into a severe depression and the US would be almost powerless to stop it.
When fighting for freedom the US needs to look at what the actual threat to their freedom is. I don't think that if the US were to go to war with Iran that American citizens would be any less free. As a Canadian I don't feel that the US is fighting for my freedom, and I'm sure there are many of countries that would feel the same way. If there was to be a war with Iran then the US would really by fighting for the freedom that their position as the most powerful nation provides them. If this is what freedom is, then I don't think that there should be a monument for it. In Washington the quote over looks the Korean War Memorial. To me the quote minimizes the amount of people that died in that war. Americans and many Canadians fought in the first conflict of the cold war. All the people that died were not fighting for the freedom of everyday life, they were fighting for America's position in the world.
Maybe I'm taking the quote too seriously, but as I was in Washington it seemed that nothing engraved in stone was to be taken lightly. For this reason I feel that it is justified to offer this critique.
Thoughts?
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Final Post?
Friday, February 16, 2007
The CBC
Last night our national broadcaster was showing the Brit Awards. I'm a supporter of the CBC, I watch it on a regular basis for their hockey coverage as well as news and other programs. I have to admit though, I watch CBC newsworld much more. I believe that we need a national broadcaster like the CBC, it is a national institution and has the resources to really cover events "at home and around the world", to use their own motto. So when I turned on the CBC last night to see the Brit Awards I was taken aback and quite upset. Why was this on the CBC? Who would watch this awards show and why is it important for the CBC to cover it? Is the Brit Awards really important to Canadians that they feel the need to show it in prime time? I just don't get it. Decisions like this are not new to the CBC but they always baffle me. I like to think that I'm a pretty regular Canadian, whatever that means, and I don't feel an affinity towards the British. I don't think the "high culture" has to emanate from Britain like the Massey Report said it should, (the Massey Report was a report that was published in the 1950s saying that the CBC should focus on things that are of "high culture" namely British style programs and humor). Maybe this was just a way for the CBC to show how good George Stroumboulopoulos is at interviewing celebrities, but we've already all seen him on Muchmusic. It bothers me when tax payer dollars goes to things like the Brit Awards and not something more Canadian.
Shout out to the Chart Attack Hack, Strombo's (and my Brother's) hockey team
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
New Conservative Ads
Hello there, I know its been a while since I last posted, I have found it hard to find interesting things to write about, until now. This has been bothering me for a few weeks now, I'm talking about the new Conservative ads that have been showing on Canadian TV. The reason that they bother me is that they are using footage from the Liberal leadership debates and they take what Stephane Dion said completely out of context. I'm not necessarily defending Dion and the Liberals I just think that what the Conservatives are doing will in the end only hurt them and the democratic process. There isn't an election now so why are we subjected to these ads? The Conservatives keep bringing up the sponsorship scandal, haven't we as a country earned the right to put that behind us? I am so sick of hearing about the scandal, and just when people were starting to forget it, they bring it up again. I think this shows that the Conservatives are afraid of the Liberals and this is the only way to gain points in the all important opinion polls. Come election time I hope that these ads end up hurting the Conservatives.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Environmentalism
As I was driving around this morning I was listening to CJOB and they were talking about environmentalism. The host of the show was asking people if environmentalism is really the number one election issue in Canada today. Recently environmentalism in the polls was placed as the number one election issue in Canada putting health care in the number two spot. The host of the show raised an interesting point, that if the economy wasn't doing so well no one would be talking about the environment. I think he was right, and in that regard the environment probably isn't that number one election issue. But what I didn't like was that it seemed that he was saying that we shouldn't put as much emphasis on the environment because if things were different it wouldn't be the number one election issue. I think that at a time like this when the economy is doing well and people are generally happy, we need to take advantage and make progress on issues like the environment. There is no denying that it is an important issue and will only get more important in the future. The environment is also a big issue right now because the Liberals have made it an issue. A warm winter coupled with Stephane Dion's policies have made this a huge issue and if the winter was cold and Michael Ignatieff had won the Liberal leadership no one would be talking environment and I wouldn't have written this post.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Blogging is Harder Than it Looks
Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Jews and Stephen Harper
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
IDF Chief Resigns
Currently listening to "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" by Bruce Springsteen
Monday, January 15, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Rice and Abbas
The reality of the current situation is that Iran and Israels desire to wipe out the Iranian nuclear program is a much more pressing issue then provisional borders of a Palestinian state. On the Palestinian side the civil war between Fatah and Hamas that seems inevitable needs to be resolved before they can seriously think about a state.
Currently listening to Amadu and Mariam's "La Realite"
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Talking Politics
So today I went to my Uncle's shiva house and was talking to my cousin about my thesis and
Currently listening to BTO's "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet"
Monday, January 8, 2007
The Family
Last night my mom referenced a family superstition. Seldom does my mom mention "family superstitions" but she has before. As I lied in my bed I was thinking about this superstition, that a pregnant girl in the family can't go to a funeral. my cousin is pregnant and she didn't come to the funeral today. I thought this was so weird. Who knows these superstitions, where did they come from, how will they live on? I wish I could go back in time so that I could hear these first hand from the brothers and sisters themselves. "Family superstitions" are such an interesting tradition and I would love to be in a family that has them, that sense of tradition and mystery all mixed in together. But I'm not in that family, my family doesn't have these superstitions, my mom's family does, but not mine. Anyways, just some thoughts.
Currently listening to Bob Dylan's Modern Times album
Here We Go!
This is the obligatory first post explaining the name of the blog. The Radical Breach is a saying in one of my favorite Paul Simon songs, Me and Julio Down By The School Yard. Now I know its pretty lame to name a blog after such a famous song and songwriter, but I'm going to try to explain my reasoning anyway.
1. I love Paul Simon
2. I want this blog to be an outlet for my views on issues of life and the world and I hope that I make people think outside their normal views, thus being a "radical breach" from their everyday thinking.
So there you go.
Currently listening to "Still Crazy After All These Years" by Paul Simon