Wednesday, July 19, 2006

SLIIP US

The more I read, watch, or hear via conventional news outlets or simply word of mouth, the sicker I feel. Of course I'm talking about the current conflict in the Middle East, otherwise known as the, Syria/Lebanon/Israel/Iran/Palestine/U.S. Conflict or as I like to call it the S.L.I.I.P. U.S. conflict. Say it with me “Sliip Us.” The Daily Show should pick that up any day now.

I have prematurely reached the point of sequestering myself from all news sources. Its not that it’s over played or boring, its much worse than that, its that I feel like the world is spiraling out of control and I must sit and wait for one ridiculous course of events to out do the previous. I’m not ready to run down the street and yell the sky is falling, I just feel that playing with fire these days is greatly dissimilar than, 15, 10, even 5 years ago.

Of course I am revealing my age, I wasn’t alive or old enough to remember the all out wars the Arab nations had with Israel previously, so to me this is a big deal. Regardless of that fact however I feel like these are different times, there is so much more at stake now.

Compare SLIIP US to the Arab-Israeli wars of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Back then before the Jewish lobby grew in the U.S. and started writing Mid East policy, the U.S. played a much more objective role, even providing intelligence information to both Israel and Egypt alike while the two sides were fighting each other. The Arab-Israeli Wars were fought between nations and their army’s, unlike today’s Mid East turmoil which has evolved into a war of religious ideologies and their guerilla fighters.

The world I live in is a complex one tainted with nuclear proliferation and militarily maturing nations, long before believed to be radical but technologically incapable of posing a threat. Now our worst nightmares have been realized, radical nations on the verge of destructive advancements with leaders reminiscent of James Bond Movie Villains. (by the way doesn’t Kim Jong Il seem like the perfect James Bond Villain?)

I’m not saying that WW3 is here but if we get out of this without dramatic escalation I’ll count my blessings.

P.S. Would someone please tell me how Israel attacking Lebanon affects my gas prices? I paid $50 to fill my tank yesterday and I drive a Honda!

6 Comments:

At 9:57 PM, Blogger Miss Carnivorous said...

Bush didn't go to war in Iraq for the oil. He went to Iraq to limit the oil and make it rarer and harder to get. That way it costs more. It's like the diamond trade, you control distribution and viola, gas becomes very expensive. Dastardly my imperial leader is! The supreme leader of Iran is looking a bit debonair in the pic you have posted. His eyes are too close together for real beauty, however.

 
At 2:29 AM, Blogger D.B. Shobrawy said...

Good diagnosis and I completely agree. Its like dabeers, they control the flow of diamonds they control the world market price.

By the way I think its the angle of the pic that makes his eyes look so funny.

 
At 5:39 AM, Blogger Amon Ra said...

This may be silly question but what dou you think it will happen with oil prices in the end of the crisis??? If ever comes a de-escalation which seems impossible currently...

 
At 1:49 PM, Blogger D.B. Shobrawy said...

Amon Ra, not a silly question at all, I think the gas prices will ultimately stay hi. Its a process, a matter of fact in the united states you can observe how they raised the gas prices. I remember only 6 years ago the average gas price was about 1.25-1.30, then they would raise the gas prices to like 2.00 and tell you there was some dramatic change in oil production for the increase. They keep it at that price for a few months while everyone is losing their mind and then drop it down to 1.75-1.80 and everyone feels relivied even though in only 2 months the gas prices have gone up by 50 cents! They did this back and forth procedure several times since then and now if I look outside the gas price is about 3.20 that means in 5 or 6 years the price has more than doubled.

Only one characteristic has really changed and that is the reasoning that has been used to excuse the increase. After 9/11 they started using middle east instability as an excuse for oil hikes. A matter of fact everytime the president of Iran says something controversial in the news, the price of oil goes up. I think in the end they will push us until they think we are just about to snap and then pull back a little and then push it back and leave us constantly on the edge.

One more note, they like to keep us confused too, in the news I hear more and more about the U.S. moving towards not using Gas. That will never happen. George W. also used this line in his state of the Union address, "the U.S. is addicted to Oil". He said it to suggest he thinks we should get off our dependancy. In reality hes back there making all the deals with Saudi and Opec.

 
At 4:16 PM, Blogger Amon Ra said...

Your comprehensive analysis raises another question that confuses every time...

What is the role of Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and on a second extent of Egypt, between the US-Israel block and the Iran-Syria bloc? Are oil relationships so strong that have overcome the muslim consiouscness among Arabic nations?
I believe the answer is yes when i examine what happened in Iraq...

Concerning what you mentioned about price increases i can not disagree at any point. People - Nations - Races tend to forget very easily nowadays and the pace of contemporary life does not allow them to focus and understand what conspiracies take place. And innocent people always pay the price...

P.S: One of the biggest newspapers in Greece (i am from Athens) had a photo with an injured lebanese kid in the front page. People read about it, felt awful probably about it, but continued what they were doing previously... In Greece, in France, in Australia... It is not a lack of innocence. It is the desease of the western civilisation.

 
At 6:54 PM, Blogger Fætter Vims said...

Amon Ra: "It is not a lack of innocence. It is the desease of the western civilisation."

Don't think "we " have no compassion. The news are one continuing horror story. But we can only take so much. We become numb. We even start cracking tasteless jokes about ME ppl in general, just to. protect our feelings. As D.B. put it" I have prematurely reached the point of sequestering myself from all news sources."

 

Post a Comment

<< Home