Mystic Mindinao
24-04-2005, 23:52
I was away on a vacation for spring break. Lovely time. And you know what was the loveliest part of it? I was away from civilization, unable to get anything in the way of news.
Now I have caught up, and I shiver at what I hear. Several very, very bad things have happened. They may have nothing in common on the surface, but they do share one common denominator: they wish to threaten individual liberty.
In Rome, there was a disapointment. Benedict XVI was elected pope, conviniently named "the Rotweiler" for his ultra conservative theology, comparable only to some Protestant leaders and muftis today. In Asia, there was appeasement. North Korea is pressing to reignite the failed six party talks, which is only a platform for the world's most repressive and selfish regime to demand concessions.
In Quito, another president was overthrown. It was not disgusting in itself, but the fact that this is the seventh one in as many years. There is no liberty in such instability.
In China, officials announced a sharp rise in export tarriffs on textiles. They are obviously against cheap clothes, as this follows a 1250% increase in textiles in March over February.
In Cuba, Fidel Castro had another political rally. No big deal, unless one considers that he used his indoctrinated puppet, Elian Gonzalez, to whip up anti capitalist sentiment on the island.
Finally, there were two events in Venezuela, Latin America's Russia. First, the Venezuelans have isolated themselves further by abruptly ending a military exchange with the US. They've also been widely reading Don Quixote. The word quixotic is now synomynous with a hopelessly idealistic person, and that is what Hugo Chavez is trying to do: indoctrinate his people to supplant his ever tightening grip on Caracas.
Annd on this forum, a coalition seems to be forming to restrict trade to the US because it is "unfair" to the rest of the world, not realizing that we pay for everything we consume. Their view of the market defies logic.
There has been a lot that has happened that is a threat to liberty. It is almost scarry for me to realize how much can happen in a week. But if we desire it, we can change this trend to illiberal chaos.
Now I have caught up, and I shiver at what I hear. Several very, very bad things have happened. They may have nothing in common on the surface, but they do share one common denominator: they wish to threaten individual liberty.
In Rome, there was a disapointment. Benedict XVI was elected pope, conviniently named "the Rotweiler" for his ultra conservative theology, comparable only to some Protestant leaders and muftis today. In Asia, there was appeasement. North Korea is pressing to reignite the failed six party talks, which is only a platform for the world's most repressive and selfish regime to demand concessions.
In Quito, another president was overthrown. It was not disgusting in itself, but the fact that this is the seventh one in as many years. There is no liberty in such instability.
In China, officials announced a sharp rise in export tarriffs on textiles. They are obviously against cheap clothes, as this follows a 1250% increase in textiles in March over February.
In Cuba, Fidel Castro had another political rally. No big deal, unless one considers that he used his indoctrinated puppet, Elian Gonzalez, to whip up anti capitalist sentiment on the island.
Finally, there were two events in Venezuela, Latin America's Russia. First, the Venezuelans have isolated themselves further by abruptly ending a military exchange with the US. They've also been widely reading Don Quixote. The word quixotic is now synomynous with a hopelessly idealistic person, and that is what Hugo Chavez is trying to do: indoctrinate his people to supplant his ever tightening grip on Caracas.
Annd on this forum, a coalition seems to be forming to restrict trade to the US because it is "unfair" to the rest of the world, not realizing that we pay for everything we consume. Their view of the market defies logic.
There has been a lot that has happened that is a threat to liberty. It is almost scarry for me to realize how much can happen in a week. But if we desire it, we can change this trend to illiberal chaos.