Global village war

Another bad week in the global village war. Ricin in North London, Bush is running out of patience, Blair can’t make up his mind, Fylingdales gets to work for the man for a couple more decades, and over on the other side of the city that I live in, an ordinary policeman dies with a knife in his chest.

I lived in Crumpsall for three years. I must have walked, biked, or drove past that house hundreds of times. I’ve also walked on the moors surrounding Fylingdales many times. And we’re driving down to North London tomorrow to visit Debra’s family. This is getting horribly close to my little life.

Maybe this is how it starts: a few little events, getting closer. And then, if you’re us, buildings are falling and people drop in the streets. And if you’re them, you get to watch B52s carving contrails across your sky while the bombs fall and the food and medicine run out and the rats grow fat. #

A recent poll tells us that one in two Americans now believe Saddam was responsible for the attack on the World Trade Centre” – The United States of America has gone mad, by John Le Carre.

Personally, I’ve never met an American that I didn’t like. And I’ve met quite a few. I like their sense of fairness and justice, their pride in individuality and self-reliance, and their sense of optimism. I like Americans. But I’m starting to suspect that this is because I’ve only ever met the minority who are open-minded enough to travel abroad. #

We have about 60 per cent of the world’s wealth but only 6.3 per cent of its population. Our real task in the coming period (will be) to maintain this position of disparity. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford the luxury of altruism and world benefaction … the day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are hampered then by idealistic slogans the better.
– George Kennan, head of U.S. State Department Planning, February 24, 1948. #

Surfing the Apocalypse. Cool video from the Guerrilla News Network.