Powers that be
Seeking God's Wrath
I think the media's treatment of the Tsunami disaster is a sham. The whole 'God and the Tsunami' hype and other Tower of Babel politics are so obvious. This is also being coupled with a strong 'help the poor' drive. But funny, how relatively little attention or support the massive earthquake in Iran received in 2003. Why?
It ain't just fringe groups. Larry King Live has been focusing endlessly on the Tsunami. Last night, the show hosted a talk with spiritual leaders from various faiths to discuss the divine implications of our world's increasing natural calamities. Yet the emphasis seemed to be on grouping people by race and religion: your people, my people. (See transcript.) This sounds a lot like the U.S. election.
Larry King - whom I respect as a hard-headed talk-show host - leaned away from those expressing holistic views of spirituality and nature, or even thoughts on preventative global management strategies (eg, education, resource allocation, etc). Instead, he seemed to favour a punishing God slant on the whole tragedy, and emphasized an east-west divide. Many other media programs were doing the same thing, initially. Now, the focus is on the aftermath and charitable support. Yes, the portents have begun...
So here are some of my own wacky, connect-the-dots wonderings about The Tsunami:
1. Since war on Iraq began, there have been increasing references and comparisons being made to World War II (WWII).
(I myself often refer to WWII as an example of how vulnerable we all are to group-think and intolerance. Fascism and hatred can be carried to epic proportions by average people. I suspect today's plots for power will be well-disguised by a friendly, feel-good, rainbow face. Fascism and capitalism have definitely evolved, and possibly have merged.)
2. In spite of increasing U.S. military action and homeland security, most North Americans unquestioningly accept media spins, without a second thought. News, advertising, and entertainment are rapidly moulding people's minds into an apathetic jello pattern: 'War Against Terrorism'.
(I'm not pro-terrorism - I'm pro-peace (though I've become emotionally combative).)
3. Globalization, multiculturalism, increasing socio-economic polarizations, and general distrust are all creating an ideal climate for pushing through 'security' measures that undermine democracy and silence dissenters.
4. The U.S. administration openly admits they're undergoing the most significant revamp in military and security measures since WWII. This is a country that has been spending BILLIONS and TRILLIONS of dollars every year on military defense, nuclear arms, and space exploration.
5. U.S. government recently centralized management of their 15 different intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI, etc), and wants Canada to share its security information (CSIS, RCMP) within the same database - unilaterally, of course. (See November 1 post and Maclean's article - to come.)
6. Suddenly, here comes the Tsunami (the day after Christmas, no less). Why use a Japanese term for 'tidal wave' to label a catastrophe that took place in Southeast Asia?
- Word choice: the 'Tsunami' and its impacts could easily symbolize Japan's past military invasions and ongoing economic conquests in that region; negative associations through simple linguistics may subtly underscore long-standing resentments among the affected nations towards the Japanese.*
[Edit: Saw this in a Slate article: '...he told how the giant wave of the tsunami — a word Sulaiman had never even heard a few days earlier — had reached out and swallowed his family whole...'. Added February 1, 2005.]
- This also comes at a time when Pearl Harbour has been resurfacing in the public imagination, due to U.S. homeland security measures and military offensives in Iraq. (See The New Pearl Harbour.)
*(Note: My being threatened with government investigation stems from an incident in which I was claiming safety concerns, as a Chinese-Canadian woman backpacking alone in Southeast Asia. I'm probably one of the only people to ever have written a macro-micro analysis about these complicated socio-cultural politics in a letter sent to the Security Department in Ottawa, which then got passed to the Department of Foreign Affairs.)
7. Strong media emphasis on sex trade and child abductions during the Tsunami's aftermath seemed rather quick, and almost unlikely, in my opinion. I think this news angle deserves questioning:
a) Is it happening, and is it as prevalent as news reports indicate?
b) If so, who's to say this horrible phenomena isn't being abetted by foreign interests for propaganda purposes?
(See U.S. Contra drug dealings - December 18, 2004; see Gay Abbate - November 19, 2004; and see Asian troops in Iraq - November 13, 2003.)
8. Most survivors are apparently children, now orphaned. (Children and elderly are usually the first to perish in a major disaster.) [Added January 25, 2005.]
[Edit: See January 15 and January 25 posts for more thoughts on Tsunami.]
I think the media's treatment of the Tsunami disaster is a sham. The whole 'God and the Tsunami' hype and other Tower of Babel politics are so obvious. This is also being coupled with a strong 'help the poor' drive. But funny, how relatively little attention or support the massive earthquake in Iran received in 2003. Why?
It ain't just fringe groups. Larry King Live has been focusing endlessly on the Tsunami. Last night, the show hosted a talk with spiritual leaders from various faiths to discuss the divine implications of our world's increasing natural calamities. Yet the emphasis seemed to be on grouping people by race and religion: your people, my people. (See transcript.) This sounds a lot like the U.S. election.
Larry King - whom I respect as a hard-headed talk-show host - leaned away from those expressing holistic views of spirituality and nature, or even thoughts on preventative global management strategies (eg, education, resource allocation, etc). Instead, he seemed to favour a punishing God slant on the whole tragedy, and emphasized an east-west divide. Many other media programs were doing the same thing, initially. Now, the focus is on the aftermath and charitable support. Yes, the portents have begun...
So here are some of my own wacky, connect-the-dots wonderings about The Tsunami:
1. Since war on Iraq began, there have been increasing references and comparisons being made to World War II (WWII).
(I myself often refer to WWII as an example of how vulnerable we all are to group-think and intolerance. Fascism and hatred can be carried to epic proportions by average people. I suspect today's plots for power will be well-disguised by a friendly, feel-good, rainbow face. Fascism and capitalism have definitely evolved, and possibly have merged.)
2. In spite of increasing U.S. military action and homeland security, most North Americans unquestioningly accept media spins, without a second thought. News, advertising, and entertainment are rapidly moulding people's minds into an apathetic jello pattern: 'War Against Terrorism'.
(I'm not pro-terrorism - I'm pro-peace (though I've become emotionally combative).)
3. Globalization, multiculturalism, increasing socio-economic polarizations, and general distrust are all creating an ideal climate for pushing through 'security' measures that undermine democracy and silence dissenters.
4. The U.S. administration openly admits they're undergoing the most significant revamp in military and security measures since WWII. This is a country that has been spending BILLIONS and TRILLIONS of dollars every year on military defense, nuclear arms, and space exploration.
5. U.S. government recently centralized management of their 15 different intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI, etc), and wants Canada to share its security information (CSIS, RCMP) within the same database - unilaterally, of course. (See November 1 post and Maclean's article - to come.)
6. Suddenly, here comes the Tsunami (the day after Christmas, no less). Why use a Japanese term for 'tidal wave' to label a catastrophe that took place in Southeast Asia?
- Word choice: the 'Tsunami' and its impacts could easily symbolize Japan's past military invasions and ongoing economic conquests in that region; negative associations through simple linguistics may subtly underscore long-standing resentments among the affected nations towards the Japanese.*
[Edit: Saw this in a Slate article: '...he told how the giant wave of the tsunami — a word Sulaiman had never even heard a few days earlier — had reached out and swallowed his family whole...'. Added February 1, 2005.]
- This also comes at a time when Pearl Harbour has been resurfacing in the public imagination, due to U.S. homeland security measures and military offensives in Iraq. (See The New Pearl Harbour.)
*(Note: My being threatened with government investigation stems from an incident in which I was claiming safety concerns, as a Chinese-Canadian woman backpacking alone in Southeast Asia. I'm probably one of the only people to ever have written a macro-micro analysis about these complicated socio-cultural politics in a letter sent to the Security Department in Ottawa, which then got passed to the Department of Foreign Affairs.)
7. Strong media emphasis on sex trade and child abductions during the Tsunami's aftermath seemed rather quick, and almost unlikely, in my opinion. I think this news angle deserves questioning:
a) Is it happening, and is it as prevalent as news reports indicate?
b) If so, who's to say this horrible phenomena isn't being abetted by foreign interests for propaganda purposes?
(See U.S. Contra drug dealings - December 18, 2004; see Gay Abbate - November 19, 2004; and see Asian troops in Iraq - November 13, 2003.)
8. Most survivors are apparently children, now orphaned. (Children and elderly are usually the first to perish in a major disaster.) [Added January 25, 2005.]
[Edit: See January 15 and January 25 posts for more thoughts on Tsunami.]
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11:57 PM
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