I do my best to avoid being part of the problem, withdrawing my car from congestion, taking more time at the watering holes. I don't always succeed. Yesterday I was hoping to make a 6 PM meetup back in my neighborhood.
So I snapped on the car radio, like many commuting North Americans, and tuned into NPR for some stories about how the CIA is still looking for a mission in Afghanistan, and to succeed will need some level of military engagement. Pakistan is likewise in the cross-hairs. Oh, and Egypt. Syria is pretty much out of the news, as is Gaza.
All this traces back to the 911 debacle, around which so many questions still swirl, and used as a major excuse to mislead. Iraq had made huge concessions in hopes of avoiding an invasion, but the PR people knew they'd need a scapegoat if anything really bad happened. Invading Iraq would move from back burner to front, because Afghanistan didn't have anything like Saddam's palaces. Libya got the same treatment, even after concessions. Europe got the refugees.
We also heard about The Wall again. A nation of immigrants can't bring itself to really self-govern. Reaching for too much territory too quickly, was that it? Psychologically, the Civil and Spanish-American wars are still driving so much of the "policy" albeit unconsciously.
I did manage to meet up with Derek (Deke the Geek, big on Twitter) and Trevor (one of the top Bucky Fuller archivists, world class), at the intersection of Hawthorne and SE 37th, in front of Starbucks, totally unplanned, but missed meeting with the folks I'd actually scheduled to meet with, on their way to Burning Man this weekend.
Today I'm staying out of the melee, having some happy hour beers and salad while I wait for rush hour commuters to get home. I won't be listening to any news programs. Bankrupt policies are of fading interest.
So I snapped on the car radio, like many commuting North Americans, and tuned into NPR for some stories about how the CIA is still looking for a mission in Afghanistan, and to succeed will need some level of military engagement. Pakistan is likewise in the cross-hairs. Oh, and Egypt. Syria is pretty much out of the news, as is Gaza.
All this traces back to the 911 debacle, around which so many questions still swirl, and used as a major excuse to mislead. Iraq had made huge concessions in hopes of avoiding an invasion, but the PR people knew they'd need a scapegoat if anything really bad happened. Invading Iraq would move from back burner to front, because Afghanistan didn't have anything like Saddam's palaces. Libya got the same treatment, even after concessions. Europe got the refugees.
We also heard about The Wall again. A nation of immigrants can't bring itself to really self-govern. Reaching for too much territory too quickly, was that it? Psychologically, the Civil and Spanish-American wars are still driving so much of the "policy" albeit unconsciously.
I did manage to meet up with Derek (Deke the Geek, big on Twitter) and Trevor (one of the top Bucky Fuller archivists, world class), at the intersection of Hawthorne and SE 37th, in front of Starbucks, totally unplanned, but missed meeting with the folks I'd actually scheduled to meet with, on their way to Burning Man this weekend.
Today I'm staying out of the melee, having some happy hour beers and salad while I wait for rush hour commuters to get home. I won't be listening to any news programs. Bankrupt policies are of fading interest.
