Break Out Those Maps
Just when Americans start figuring out the region that CENTCOM commands, that is, where Israel is in relation to Yemen, which states are Sunni governed and which are Shiia, we now have to break out the old atlas and try to figure out this new AFRICOM. Thats right, the Dark Continent, the one everyone wishes away, is an area of "national security". Yes, indeed, Dick Cheney, Chevron, Exxon -Mobile and Dutch Shell.Unfortunate little Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa (140 million), along with several other countries in the West African "Oil Triangle" is cursed with that black gooey stuff our brave young men and women are so willing to die for. Coincidentally, it is also a front line in the Global War On Terror! Surpise ,surprise, as Gomer Pyle used to say. Total oil revenues that have flowed into Nigeria since 1974 : $ 728,500,000,000 Percentage of Nigerians living on less than $1.00 a day in 1985 and today, respectively: 32, 71. Just when I finally figured out where Kirkuk is I have to find Sao Tome and Principe, which according to the new report by the Center for International Policy, will be the new headquarters for AFRICOM.
What is funny is the US attitude toward Venezuela, a place with no political instability or violent conflict. One would think we would be thrilled to have a reliable source, would be praising the Bolivarian revolution and Chavez as a godsend. But no.
That was quite a glimpse into the economic eggshells the global stock trading system really rests on the other day, what with all the serious analysts saying there was no explanation, no reasoning, no logic behind the wild fluctuations in a market trading trillions of dollars of wealth. A magnificent structure built with smoke and mirrors, existing only because enough people believe hard enough that it exists. That freak dude Jim Something that does the Mad Money show is the perfect symbol within a sign. Mad Money! Yes! Crazy!And who would have thought, who could have thought, we would hear "communist" leaders saying their highest priority was "market stability"? You can't make this stuff up. Parody is almost impossible.
Labels: stocks, West Africa
posted by troutsky @ 6:30 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
how much longer can we be a democracy and an empire? (i use the term very loosely)
the term democracy that is
AFRICOM was an inevitable creation, the key to thinking about the American economy and where "national security interests" are located is a simple formula. Since the US dollar is no longer based on the amount of gold we hold in reserve to cover the value. It is now based on the value of the GDP and that is an oil run economy. Basically it means no oil control , no US$$$.
This is what I believe Dick Chaney was eluding to when he said "The American way of live is non-negotiable".
The thing that we tend to overlook when talking about what are truly American "national security interests" is that until June of 2006 all oil in the world was traded in US dollars, so that if anyone China, Russia, Venezuela wanted to buy or sell oil they had to go through the US currency exchange to get the money to do so.
What changed in June 2006 was that Iran opened the first Oil exchange that traded oil in Euros, hence the conflict with Iran. Same is true with Venezuela, Chavez has mentioned more than once that he would prefer to trade their oil in Euros, hence the "Chavez is an evil dictator" mantra from Washington.
If one looks closely enough you find that all of the problems the world is facing today and in the near future all have to do with oil & other fossil fuels, from conflict and wars, wealth disparity & globalism to global climate change. It is all coming from our US way of life, the very dollars that we use to buy our organic produce and sweatshop-free shoes are still dollars that obtain their value because of the existence of oil, military expenditures, and capitalist exploitation..
In your case, parody IS impossible.
A detractor! But one unwilling to engage, eh anon? I understand the wide gulf that separates us ideologically,you think I totally ignore the more noble intentions of US foreign policy.I know there is some idealism there, but it gets plenty of play. My job is to point out the less obvious.
The scary thing,in my view aprilloper,is that our state dept. has quit relying on academics,scholars, intellectuals (though I didnt agree with Arthur Schlesinger, at least he had valid credentials) so they go into these regions ignorant of history and culture.How many Americans (not me certainly) understand Africa?
graem, I argue that our democracy is all style and no substance, hollow at best. This is as much the crisis as is our militaristic corporate/state.
Going into Africa, is curtailed by recent memories of colonial domination. The race factor has to be a consideration.
The scary thing,in my view aprilloper,is that our state dept. has quit relying on academics,scholars, intellectuals (though I didnt agree with Arthur Schlesinger, at least he had valid credentials) so they go into these regions ignorant of history and culture.How many Americans (not me certainly) understand Africa?
I totally agree, I guess the point I missed in my post was that we are in too many places we shouldn't be.
One thought I have regarding globalism and oil markets that I was alluding to before is, if American business wants to do business in another country fine. But if they get kicked out of the country then that is the risk they take and should have no bearing on becoming a "national security issue" for the state department.
If Venezuela wants to sell it's oil in Euros, fine, what business is it of ours what they do with their natural resource or how they sell it.
I will admit my entire income currently comes from the burning of fossil fuel. I guess I would like to challenge everyone to try to but me out of business. Stop buying food that has traveled more than 1,500 miles, stop buying shoes from China, and stop buying cheap plastic crap from Wal-Mart, and I will gladly go back to being a farm laborer, living on less than $10,000 per year (that is a 80% pay cut, which I am planning to do in the next three years voluntarily). I am not directing this last comment just at troutsky, for all I know he may personally live very simply, but I would bet other readers don't.
There is too great of a disparity in wealth in the world, however I disagree that we should bring everyone up to our standard of living. I contend that we should "Power-Down" to their level. Those with the most, which are the fewest, make biggest difference when they stop over-consuming and leave something for others.
This may seem off point from the original post but it isn't.
Percentage of Nigerians living on less than $1.00 a day in 1985 and today, respectively: 32, 71.
Where is that money going? Granted that there are more Nigerian today then there were in 1974, I just wonder how much of that money is getting cycled back into US hands through arms sales, commodity trading and currency exchange? Then finding it's way right back into our own wallets?
This may seem a strange way of putting my world view into an analogy, but I see all the resources, land water, minerals, labor, ect. as a big buffet at a family reunion. If I am one of the first people in line, am I heaping my plate full of the choicest foods, and leave the sun-baked potato salad for those at the back of the line or am I takeing just enough to keep myself from passing out from hunger until everyone has had some? This makes it easier for me to determine if I am consuming based on my needs or greeds.
Ren, I have been reading where the biggest proponent of this new "strategic initiative" is Congressman William Jefferson (D La.)a black man. He has found huge support within the Black Caucus.Louisiana and Shell Oil have deep ties.Africanist humanitarians have embraced the War On Terror discourse to support intervention in the Gulf of Guinea.
That is a wonderful analogy Aprilloper, the idea of voluntarily limiting not only consumption but your Power to do as you wish.Simple living falls right in with that concept but in a capitalist, individualistic society we all feel pressure to hoard for a rainy day, for our retirement, to be able to pass on an inheritance etc.To make successful investments we perpetuate what we deplore, to own productive property and charge rent or create profit we become what we condemn.
Thats why i support the approach of revolutionaries who advocate simplicity and engagement, who both show by example but then also confront power on the real playing field of politics,peaceful resistance and when necessary, the barricades. Food Not Bombs! Unfortunately, the millionaires I take fishing (my living) see us guides living on so little as bizarre curiosities. Their wealth will have to be wrestled from them and their ideology and world views (or their childrens) radically transformed.
As an educator, I really appreciate Aprilloper´s approach of modeling what one preaches.
But the true revolutionary (in my mind) combines personal sacrifices of creature comforts with direct action against the establishment. There are plenty minimalists content to shed their clothes and leave the reservation. Their misunderstanding is that as much as they think they are "unplugged" they aren't, and they keep coming back. Also, what about mutual aid? Helping others?
My problem tends to be the difficulty I have forfeiting a lot of my comfort. I spend more than I need to on myself. I live in the first world and realize that activism is a privilege, not a matter of immediate survival. So I need to move in the direction Aprilloper suggests.
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