Sigh... My first Sociology class is over...
Well, I am kinda sad mostly because I will be leaving NTU and going back to GT where there are no Sociology classes... if I stay in NTU, I will definitely take more socio classes, especially Religion & Socio and Environment & Socio etc... To get my green atheist ego worked up a bit... Haha...
Anyway, this class was fun and interesting, though as I read and researched, the more depressing stories I found also, the class took a realistic but rather pessimistic take on things... can't really argue, but I am more of an optimistic guy...
Sigh... so for some reason, to end my blog on Social Problems in a Global Context, I felt like posting this Bob Sinclair song to remind us that Globalization and such is not bad, it's just that we people make it bad... so let US all get TOGETHER as one planet, one species and enjoy life on earth!
PEACE!
Ameer Khalek
Monday, November 3, 2008
Energy and Environment: When Wind and Oil Combine For Water
America is dependant on oil for energy. In 1970, there was a 24% import level; today, it is almost 70% and increasing. Thus, many Americans want to be independent of oil for energy, and one of them is the oilman and corporate raider, T. Boon Pickens. Therefore, he created the Pickens Plan, a plan to set up the largest wind farm in the world to rid America of it’s foreign oil addiction. Why is he doing that? He who committed huge sums of money to the elections of the Bush administrations who have a close relationship with foreign oil producers, he who is head of BP Capital Management that has foreign oil interests, he who has invested in Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil services corporation, the Shaw Group, a nuclear and conventional energy powerhouse, Kellog Brown and Root and so on… So he decries the influence of foreign oil but his money is on it, what is the catch? It all started when Pickens, who made a good living for a long time extracting oil and gas and now, at 80, turned his attention towards water, a commodity that should be bought, sold, and traded for the benefit of those who own it and those who can afford it.

In 1996 the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority (CRMWA), bought nearly 43,000 acres of water, some of it just south of Pickens' ranch, for $14.5 million. Underneath Roberts County lies one of the world's largest repositories of water. The Ogallala Aquifer stretches from Texas to South Dakota and contains a quadrillion gallons of water yet the extensive irrigation necessary to grow corn, cotton, and wheat in west Texas has left the Ogallala nearly depleted in some places; but the land in Roberts County is unsuited for agriculture, and so the Ogallala there is largely untapped. Groundwater use in Texas is governed by what's quaintly called the rule of capture. It lets landowners pump as much water as they can, even if doing so drains neighboring properties. This put Pickens in an uncomfortable position: If he didn't sell his water to CRMWA, they could potentially suck some of it right out from under his ranch. So he tried but they didn't have the money to buy it. Pickens next approached the city of Amarillo, which also had begun to acquire water rights in Roberts County. It wasn't interested, either. Pickens felt surrounded. "I had to find a buyer for my water," he says, "or I was going to be drained." So Pickens decided to fight. In 1999 he created a company called Mesa Water and began to accumulate water rights so he could sell it to another city. In all, Pickens, CRMWA, and Amarillo have spent about $150 million to buy up nearly 80% of the water rights in Roberts County. Not all Roberts County landowners wanted to do business with him, though. Pickens intended to pull water from an aquifer that is pretty much the sole source for the Panhandle, and that isn't refilled quickly, and sell it to a place like Dallas, whose water use is the highest of any city in Texas. This seemed ludicrous, even reckless, to some.

Thus Pickens owns more water than any other US individual and he wants to sell it, some 65 billion gallons a year but it’s far, far away from anyplace that might buy it. Pickens knew he'd have to build a pipeline, and to do so at anything resembling a reasonable cost, he'd need the power of eminent domain—the right of a government entity to force the sale of private property for the public good. Water utilities have that right. If Dallas agreed to buy Pickens' water, it could extend such authority to him. But Dallas deemed Pickens' price too high and declined to do a deal. So Pickens and his executives tried to create a Fresh Water Supply District—a government entity that would have that power. But they couldn't get it through.

And so here comes in the wind farm. Pickens used the enormous wind farm erected on his property as a means to lobby for the right to pipe the Ogallala water to a major metropolitan center. He successfully passed a bill through the Texas Legislature to allow a water-supply district to transport alternative energy and water in a single corridor, or right-of-way. But Pickens still needed the power of eminent domain if he was going to build his pipeline and wind-power lines across private land so he successfully loosened the legal definitions of a water district, allowing him to invoke the right of eminent domain. Mesa could use a single right-of-way for the water pipeline and the electric lines. With that, Pickens won the right to issue tax-free bonds for his pipeline and electrical lines as well as the extraordinary power to claim land across swaths of the state. In April, 2008, Mesa sent out some 1,100 letters to people along the 250-mile proposed right-of-way. The letters included a Texas landowners' bill of rights, information on the condemnation procedure, a map of the route, and a list of open houses they could attend for more information. Mesa expects to acquire the land it needs in the next 18 months and pay about $30 million for it; Pickens wants to begin construction on the $1.2 billion pipeline right afterward. It should take about three years to complete. If all goes according to plan, Mesa will be able to pump enough water to satisfy the needs of some 1.5 million Texans every day.
How long will the Ogallala sustain Pickens’ pumping? No one knows, hopefully, it will be controlled. But even with rules and regulations set up to protect the environment, can it stop Pickens who is living in his own version of No Country For Old Men? For he went through the hassle of building a $1 Trillion wind farm to be able to pump it, surely property, environment and democracy will not have a chance to stand in his way.
Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_25/b4089040017753.htm
http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/071008/loc_302185743.shtml
http://www.alternet.org/environment/95471/why_t._boone_pickens%27_%27clean_energy%27_plan_is_a_ponzi_scheme/?page=entire
http://www.viropop.com/zaproot/episode/ZPR_20080730

In 1996 the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority (CRMWA), bought nearly 43,000 acres of water, some of it just south of Pickens' ranch, for $14.5 million. Underneath Roberts County lies one of the world's largest repositories of water. The Ogallala Aquifer stretches from Texas to South Dakota and contains a quadrillion gallons of water yet the extensive irrigation necessary to grow corn, cotton, and wheat in west Texas has left the Ogallala nearly depleted in some places; but the land in Roberts County is unsuited for agriculture, and so the Ogallala there is largely untapped. Groundwater use in Texas is governed by what's quaintly called the rule of capture. It lets landowners pump as much water as they can, even if doing so drains neighboring properties. This put Pickens in an uncomfortable position: If he didn't sell his water to CRMWA, they could potentially suck some of it right out from under his ranch. So he tried but they didn't have the money to buy it. Pickens next approached the city of Amarillo, which also had begun to acquire water rights in Roberts County. It wasn't interested, either. Pickens felt surrounded. "I had to find a buyer for my water," he says, "or I was going to be drained." So Pickens decided to fight. In 1999 he created a company called Mesa Water and began to accumulate water rights so he could sell it to another city. In all, Pickens, CRMWA, and Amarillo have spent about $150 million to buy up nearly 80% of the water rights in Roberts County. Not all Roberts County landowners wanted to do business with him, though. Pickens intended to pull water from an aquifer that is pretty much the sole source for the Panhandle, and that isn't refilled quickly, and sell it to a place like Dallas, whose water use is the highest of any city in Texas. This seemed ludicrous, even reckless, to some.

Thus Pickens owns more water than any other US individual and he wants to sell it, some 65 billion gallons a year but it’s far, far away from anyplace that might buy it. Pickens knew he'd have to build a pipeline, and to do so at anything resembling a reasonable cost, he'd need the power of eminent domain—the right of a government entity to force the sale of private property for the public good. Water utilities have that right. If Dallas agreed to buy Pickens' water, it could extend such authority to him. But Dallas deemed Pickens' price too high and declined to do a deal. So Pickens and his executives tried to create a Fresh Water Supply District—a government entity that would have that power. But they couldn't get it through.

And so here comes in the wind farm. Pickens used the enormous wind farm erected on his property as a means to lobby for the right to pipe the Ogallala water to a major metropolitan center. He successfully passed a bill through the Texas Legislature to allow a water-supply district to transport alternative energy and water in a single corridor, or right-of-way. But Pickens still needed the power of eminent domain if he was going to build his pipeline and wind-power lines across private land so he successfully loosened the legal definitions of a water district, allowing him to invoke the right of eminent domain. Mesa could use a single right-of-way for the water pipeline and the electric lines. With that, Pickens won the right to issue tax-free bonds for his pipeline and electrical lines as well as the extraordinary power to claim land across swaths of the state. In April, 2008, Mesa sent out some 1,100 letters to people along the 250-mile proposed right-of-way. The letters included a Texas landowners' bill of rights, information on the condemnation procedure, a map of the route, and a list of open houses they could attend for more information. Mesa expects to acquire the land it needs in the next 18 months and pay about $30 million for it; Pickens wants to begin construction on the $1.2 billion pipeline right afterward. It should take about three years to complete. If all goes according to plan, Mesa will be able to pump enough water to satisfy the needs of some 1.5 million Texans every day.
How long will the Ogallala sustain Pickens’ pumping? No one knows, hopefully, it will be controlled. But even with rules and regulations set up to protect the environment, can it stop Pickens who is living in his own version of No Country For Old Men? For he went through the hassle of building a $1 Trillion wind farm to be able to pump it, surely property, environment and democracy will not have a chance to stand in his way.
Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_25/b4089040017753.htm
http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/071008/loc_302185743.shtml
http://www.alternet.org/environment/95471/why_t._boone_pickens%27_%27clean_energy%27_plan_is_a_ponzi_scheme/?page=entire
http://www.viropop.com/zaproot/episode/ZPR_20080730
Monday, October 27, 2008
Technology and Society: The Rise of the Human Machines

No, the title is not a Terminator X tagline; it is today’s societies’ tagline. With today’s advanced technology, there is hardly an action done without the help of some machine; from waking up to the synthetic buzz of an alarm, to eating the micro waved lunch at noon, to sending the 100s of emails at work, to listening to the loud music in your car during the drive home and to watching the late night DVD on your HD TV. To think that all of this has done nothing but make life easier is naïve. Such a major influence in our daily lives has led to many effects our life and society, positive and negative. The problem is that technology is a double edged sword, we can not get rid of the negative effects, and we just have to not succumb to them. Sadly, the opposite is happening.
Thanks for emails, faxes, phones, SMS and other means of contact, we can reach more people faster whenever we want. However, pure contact via technology has caused a decrease in direct human contact. True emailing and SMS-ing is more efficient but in the end they are messages in emotionless digital text. Calling is somewhat better but still lacks the total aspect in a human encounter such as facial expression and eye contact. Facebook, AIM, MSN and other social web features and tools have been revolutionary when it comes to bringing people together and increasing one’s social circle, however, the encounters are virtual in a sense. True, the people exist but again, the interaction is emotionless, via a keyboard and monitor. In addition to that, chartrooms have been a hotspot for sexual predators, pedophiles and stalkers and networking websites a medium to acquire personal and private information.
Television is another major influence in this era. From entertaining, to informational to educational, the TV makes life easier and better, but too much TV makes one a major sloth and sometimes obese as in what is currently happening to children in the US. From an addiction to soaps, series and movies to wasting a whole weekend watching sports or even History Channel or Discovery Channel, spending many hours facing a TV has been proved to be unhealthy physically and mentally. More lively outdoor activities and social interactive activities have been substituted by this new hobby, TV watching.
What is an even more important that the TV is the Computer. I do not need to explain how valuable computers are, but maybe I might have to point out some negative aspects of computer over-use. The most basic is obscene online material such as porn that objectify women and sex, violent games that desensitize humans to blood and death, leading to the creation of a more violent society. Also, just as watching TV, making using the computer a hobby is unhealthy and one should attempt to do more socially interactive activities. You want to play poker? Play normal poker with friends instead of online poker!
All of this is resulting in a society where human interaction is minimal and when it occurs, it is awkward. Teens are becoming more violent or anti-social while adults lazy and obese. Online dating, reality TV, online shopping, World of Warcraft (also known as WOW), YouTube, DiGG, StumbleUpon, Blogspot, ATMs etc are just a few of the many features of technology that have replaced an activity where the used to be more human interaction. And the number of these features is on the increase, from computer psychiatrists, robot waiters, programmed machine phone operators and many more yet to come.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Globalization & Urbanization: Atlanta’s MARTA needs a Boob Job!
After the 1996 Olympics which the city hosted, Atlanta saw years of economic boom and expanded in every direction possible. Accompanying the boom of course was a huge influx of people, from all backgrounds and social class. Just like most cities in the USA, more well to do people lived in the suburbs surrounding the city while the poorer people lived in the city, except for the well to do youth who moved into the many luxury city apartments and condominiums to enjoy HOTlanata’s night life. And just as in the American Dream, each person has a car and each person happily drives by him/herself everyday to work and back, all 5 million of them.

city planners thought commuting to the city would be a breeze given the size of the highways built, 7-lanes per direction (Picture Below). Not only one highway was built, but a few that all join together at multiple engineering marvels such as the famous Spaghetti Junction (Pictured Below). As marvelous as the designs are, it is still a fact that roadways are packed bumper to bumper with cars, SUVS, Semi's and more, stuck, not moving anywhere. People in the Atlanta area are warned not to venture onto the interstate without three quarters of a tank of gas, plenty of water, a little food and maybe a blanket as the interstate routinely gets shut down for several hours on end with accidents and worse.



Part of the problem with the interstate system around the Atlanta area is that everyone drives a separate car to work. It is kind of logical that too many people with too many cars, some of which are oversized as well, will fill up the roadways to an extent where the interstate becomes a parking lot. To fight this, an express lane was built for buses and cars with at least 2 passengers. The result: a few cars actually using the new lane while the rest are still locked in the hour plus jams.

Finally, the city of Atlanta decides to use a mass transport system and thus, MARTA was born. MARTA stands for Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority which is made up of a bus and railway system. However, it is apparent how serious the municipality is about MARTA. Regarding the bus system, the buses are never on schedule with waits up to an hour long during regular working days. Also, there is no good enough route system that connects all areas together in an efficient way with multi-stop and expressway busses. As for the railway system, a picture of the rail map should be more than enough to show how incomprehensive the system is. With only 2 perpendicular lines running in a huge city, less than a quarter of the city is covered by rail and only a few select locations are accessible, most of them being touristy landmarks. Also, there is no access to the railway system from the suburbs and the farthermost stations barely have enough parking built to accommodate a few hundred cars. Thus, the MARTA is left for the poorest of Atlanta’s inhabitants and as a hub for crime and gang activity, making its stations one of the most dangerous places to be after sunset.

Even if the major traffic jams are not good enough proof of the city’s transport problem or the increase in fuel prices, the deficit in parking spaces in the city should be. It is about time the city let go of the firm grasp of the car industry and starts making plans for a good efficient mass transport system. MARTA needs a MAJOR boob job now.

city planners thought commuting to the city would be a breeze given the size of the highways built, 7-lanes per direction (Picture Below). Not only one highway was built, but a few that all join together at multiple engineering marvels such as the famous Spaghetti Junction (Pictured Below). As marvelous as the designs are, it is still a fact that roadways are packed bumper to bumper with cars, SUVS, Semi's and more, stuck, not moving anywhere. People in the Atlanta area are warned not to venture onto the interstate without three quarters of a tank of gas, plenty of water, a little food and maybe a blanket as the interstate routinely gets shut down for several hours on end with accidents and worse.



Part of the problem with the interstate system around the Atlanta area is that everyone drives a separate car to work. It is kind of logical that too many people with too many cars, some of which are oversized as well, will fill up the roadways to an extent where the interstate becomes a parking lot. To fight this, an express lane was built for buses and cars with at least 2 passengers. The result: a few cars actually using the new lane while the rest are still locked in the hour plus jams.

Finally, the city of Atlanta decides to use a mass transport system and thus, MARTA was born. MARTA stands for Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority which is made up of a bus and railway system. However, it is apparent how serious the municipality is about MARTA. Regarding the bus system, the buses are never on schedule with waits up to an hour long during regular working days. Also, there is no good enough route system that connects all areas together in an efficient way with multi-stop and expressway busses. As for the railway system, a picture of the rail map should be more than enough to show how incomprehensive the system is. With only 2 perpendicular lines running in a huge city, less than a quarter of the city is covered by rail and only a few select locations are accessible, most of them being touristy landmarks. Also, there is no access to the railway system from the suburbs and the farthermost stations barely have enough parking built to accommodate a few hundred cars. Thus, the MARTA is left for the poorest of Atlanta’s inhabitants and as a hub for crime and gang activity, making its stations one of the most dangerous places to be after sunset.

Even if the major traffic jams are not good enough proof of the city’s transport problem or the increase in fuel prices, the deficit in parking spaces in the city should be. It is about time the city let go of the firm grasp of the car industry and starts making plans for a good efficient mass transport system. MARTA needs a MAJOR boob job now.

Monday, October 6, 2008
Globalization & Identity: Join the ME Club International
Who am I? I am me. What makes me me? Well, there are many labels I can attach to myself. Some labels I chose, some I was born with, some the government gave me, some my parents, some my friends and some my society. In the end, I am me, just another me in this world. One of the first labels I was given was my name, given to me by my parents. I am Ameer, another Ameer, for there are many with same name tag.
As I go on living life, I gain labels. Some are welcome (Arab) some are not (Sand Nigger). Some I chose for myself (Electro Junkie) while others where thrown at me (Nerd). I am proud and fanatic for some (Free Thinker) and I try to get rid of some (Stubborn Arse). Some labels I got easily without effort (Pisces) while others I had to earn (College Student). Many change while others I still have not found. For example, I am racially Lebanese, both my parents are Lebanese and my whole ancestors are Lebanese, however, I was born in the USA, therefore I am an American, but I lived in Lebanon for 15 years, so I am not really American, but also, I am not Lebanese! I also have no native language. I speak Arabic and English fluently but I have an accent in both and every language I learn (Japanese, French and Chinese) I have an accent in and are not my native language. Am I confused? Sounds like it. NO! I am one of the children of the earth, a global citizen. Globalization has brought people together, people that think alike mostly. On the internet there are countless sites that are dedicated to something with its many fans. Online communities, online forums and other virtual get togethers of people with similar ideas and opinions.
It is amazing how people sharing a similar hobby, idea or like can meet and chat or more even though they might be miles apart. It is also beneficial for all. It is good and more progressive for people that share something get together. However, sometimes, the similarity is too superficial or not basic enough. For example, I used to go with my family to Druze get togethers. (Druze is the religion I am labeled with, born into, though relabeled myself as Atheist) and most people there did not really get along because the only common thing is religion, which is supposed to be a personal thing. However, when I meet up with all my friends, it is way better since we all share something in common and are friends. Another example is my semester abroad in Paris. We were 20 students with a similar interest, learning French, put together in one hostel for 6 weeks and forced to interact together. It was a disaster; we were all different with different personalities, likes, hobbies and even different reasons for studying French, so there was a lot of tension and a lot of problems.
This post was meant to talk about the positives of labeling one’s identity but of course there are many negatives that have arose from labeling. It is bad when people take their labels to a fanatic level and attack people with different labels. I agree with having labels though for similar people to get together and enjoy the similar aspect and have a sense of belonging and identity, not to attack the people who are different. Also, I am against the government or any public institution labeling people. I hate when I have to fill out an application and there is race, religion, skin color etc…
BONUS SECTION:
I read in other Blogs that the Singaporean Government is trying to get rid of Singlish by having “Speak Good English” campaigns. I am completely against this and denounce all the dumb excuses used to attack Singlish. Singlish is one of the most apparent aspect that makes Singaporeans Singaporean, and not just Chinese or Indian or Malay, at least for us foreigners. I love listening to Singlish and I have tried to speak it at times. I <3 Singlish!


References & Thumbs Up for these Blog posts:
http://niveknat.wordpress.com/
http://ohtakemeawaypls.wordpress.com/
http://ian0304.wordpress.com/
http://jjworksforfood.wordpress.com/
http://mentaldiarrhoea.wordpress.com/
http://ntusocihs103.blogspot.com/
http://inobjectivity.wordpress.com/
As I go on living life, I gain labels. Some are welcome (Arab) some are not (Sand Nigger). Some I chose for myself (Electro Junkie) while others where thrown at me (Nerd). I am proud and fanatic for some (Free Thinker) and I try to get rid of some (Stubborn Arse). Some labels I got easily without effort (Pisces) while others I had to earn (College Student). Many change while others I still have not found. For example, I am racially Lebanese, both my parents are Lebanese and my whole ancestors are Lebanese, however, I was born in the USA, therefore I am an American, but I lived in Lebanon for 15 years, so I am not really American, but also, I am not Lebanese! I also have no native language. I speak Arabic and English fluently but I have an accent in both and every language I learn (Japanese, French and Chinese) I have an accent in and are not my native language. Am I confused? Sounds like it. NO! I am one of the children of the earth, a global citizen. Globalization has brought people together, people that think alike mostly. On the internet there are countless sites that are dedicated to something with its many fans. Online communities, online forums and other virtual get togethers of people with similar ideas and opinions.
It is amazing how people sharing a similar hobby, idea or like can meet and chat or more even though they might be miles apart. It is also beneficial for all. It is good and more progressive for people that share something get together. However, sometimes, the similarity is too superficial or not basic enough. For example, I used to go with my family to Druze get togethers. (Druze is the religion I am labeled with, born into, though relabeled myself as Atheist) and most people there did not really get along because the only common thing is religion, which is supposed to be a personal thing. However, when I meet up with all my friends, it is way better since we all share something in common and are friends. Another example is my semester abroad in Paris. We were 20 students with a similar interest, learning French, put together in one hostel for 6 weeks and forced to interact together. It was a disaster; we were all different with different personalities, likes, hobbies and even different reasons for studying French, so there was a lot of tension and a lot of problems.
This post was meant to talk about the positives of labeling one’s identity but of course there are many negatives that have arose from labeling. It is bad when people take their labels to a fanatic level and attack people with different labels. I agree with having labels though for similar people to get together and enjoy the similar aspect and have a sense of belonging and identity, not to attack the people who are different. Also, I am against the government or any public institution labeling people. I hate when I have to fill out an application and there is race, religion, skin color etc…
BONUS SECTION:
I read in other Blogs that the Singaporean Government is trying to get rid of Singlish by having “Speak Good English” campaigns. I am completely against this and denounce all the dumb excuses used to attack Singlish. Singlish is one of the most apparent aspect that makes Singaporeans Singaporean, and not just Chinese or Indian or Malay, at least for us foreigners. I love listening to Singlish and I have tried to speak it at times. I <3 Singlish!
References & Thumbs Up for these Blog posts:
http://niveknat.wordpress.com/
http://ohtakemeawaypls.wordpress.com/
http://ian0304.wordpress.com/
http://jjworksforfood.wordpress.com/
http://mentaldiarrhoea.wordpress.com/
http://ntusocihs103.blogspot.com/
http://inobjectivity.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Democracy and Freedom: The Uselessness of the Current Democracies
Globalization has connected the minds of everyone across the planet. The way one thinks and lives is influenced by the way another thinks and lives from a different culture, a different continent. Just like in other aspects, the more powerful are the more influential, thus, and unfortunately, a standard or correct way of thinking and living has inevitably been formed. Democracy, a thought for which wars were raged and people killed, is in fact a term and only a term where its way of use or way it is defined, is a result of an influenced globalized world.
Ask me what democracy is and I will give only two general definitions. Democracy is either the currently non-existent situation where you, as a citizen, are in control of your relation with the state – basically a government that listens only to its people; OR the currently existent fake feeling of being represented, of thinking you have an effective say in state affairs – basically a government that runs a state by leading its people to believe their voices are heard. Unfortunately, the majority believe the current democracy is the nonexistent one, but even worse, due to the current globalized and influenced mindset, the majority believes we should have at least one of the two democracies. Current thought will label a state as a proper modern one if it is democratic, regardless of how democratic it really is.
Contrary to popular belief, democracy is not just the capability of the people to vote and elect representatives or leaders. That is just half of the true meaning of democracy. Your democratic right does not end after you cast your vote, it begins right there. True democracies exist when the people that elected their representatives can properly and effectively criticize them. There should be a proper feedback system where the government knows that it is doing what the people wants it to do and where the people know what the government is doing and can put it back on track after it does a mistake – where a mistake is when the government does something against its people’s wishes. In the US, many people give up their right to vote because they find it useless and that the politicians do not listen to them anyway. So is this truly democracy?
The bugs in the democratic system in the US and other developed countries are not as bad is in other developing and poorer countries. In many of such countries in South America, Africa and Asia, democracy was forced upon the people by powerful nations thinking that they are doing a good deed. Are they? Democracy is not that easy to achieve. It cannot be applied overnight, it needs many requirements, the society and people must be well prepared for it.
One of the main requirements for democracy to work is a politically mature society. The people, at least a majority if not all, must be well educated to be able to select good leaders. For many poor nations, the majority of the people lives in poor rural areas and has no understanding of democracy and elections. They need food, homes and other very basic necessities for life. Any rich or charismatic person can promise to provide that, thus, ends up being democratically elected (with the approval of the greater world powers) just for him to abuse the power the people entrusted him with.
A society can be not well prepared for democracy for other reasons, such as culture. Many societies are still traditional and are geared towards following a leader unquestionably. Even though to some parts of the world this mentality is horrid, it is acceptable in other parts. The cultural difference should be taken into account. Many thoughts and systems such as democracy, capitalism, socialism, communism et cetera have been generated in a certain place to serve the people of that place in accordance to their mentality and culture, therefore when it is exported to another place, it has to be customized to suit the mentality and culture of the people at its new destination or there should be a wait till the people change their mentality and culture.
Globalization has sped up the process a bit and many people have not adapted yet thus leading to multiple democracy-caused disasters. Democracy should not be forced upon people if they are not ready for it. There should be a transit state during which any progressive and positive form of rule is OK. True democracy, being an ideal form of rule, is inevitably going to be brought upon by the society when it is ready for it.
Ask me what democracy is and I will give only two general definitions. Democracy is either the currently non-existent situation where you, as a citizen, are in control of your relation with the state – basically a government that listens only to its people; OR the currently existent fake feeling of being represented, of thinking you have an effective say in state affairs – basically a government that runs a state by leading its people to believe their voices are heard. Unfortunately, the majority believe the current democracy is the nonexistent one, but even worse, due to the current globalized and influenced mindset, the majority believes we should have at least one of the two democracies. Current thought will label a state as a proper modern one if it is democratic, regardless of how democratic it really is.
Contrary to popular belief, democracy is not just the capability of the people to vote and elect representatives or leaders. That is just half of the true meaning of democracy. Your democratic right does not end after you cast your vote, it begins right there. True democracies exist when the people that elected their representatives can properly and effectively criticize them. There should be a proper feedback system where the government knows that it is doing what the people wants it to do and where the people know what the government is doing and can put it back on track after it does a mistake – where a mistake is when the government does something against its people’s wishes. In the US, many people give up their right to vote because they find it useless and that the politicians do not listen to them anyway. So is this truly democracy?
The bugs in the democratic system in the US and other developed countries are not as bad is in other developing and poorer countries. In many of such countries in South America, Africa and Asia, democracy was forced upon the people by powerful nations thinking that they are doing a good deed. Are they? Democracy is not that easy to achieve. It cannot be applied overnight, it needs many requirements, the society and people must be well prepared for it.

A society can be not well prepared for democracy for other reasons, such as culture. Many societies are still traditional and are geared towards following a leader unquestionably. Even though to some parts of the world this mentality is horrid, it is acceptable in other parts. The cultural difference should be taken into account. Many thoughts and systems such as democracy, capitalism, socialism, communism et cetera have been generated in a certain place to serve the people of that place in accordance to their mentality and culture, therefore when it is exported to another place, it has to be customized to suit the mentality and culture of the people at its new destination or there should be a wait till the people change their mentality and culture.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
War & Society - Brainwashing Tools
You can’t wage a war by yourself. You need an army, you need people to fight, to kill, be killed and destroy. But why would people want to fight, to kill, be killed and destroy? You need to give them a reason. You need to plant that reason in their minds, to let them never forget it; you need to make them not able to forget it. You need to give them feelings and emotions that are overwhelmingly strong in their minds, strong enough to override over feelings and emotions such as love, mercy, empathy and sympathy; basically to cancel their conscious.
To have a war, you need at least one huge group of people who share a common social aspect, united with malicious intent. The most known social aspect used to unite people and give them enough reason to go to war is religion. Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. Crusades, Islamic Jihad and many other wars in the name of a so called god of a certain religion (which of course is the one and only true religion that is blessed by that so called god) are examples of when ignorant people are brainwashed by eloquent, charismatic and evil ‘men of god’ into believing that their faith is the ‘one’ and it deserves them dying and killing nonbelievers who do not want to join.
Religion is an amazing creation, for it is a very powerful tool to control the many simple minded people to go to war, for it deals with the unknown, with life after death, with nature et cetera. In the Aztec civilization, the main priest would demand a war against smaller tribes to capture humans for sacrifice to the gods for there to be rain for crops.
Poverty is also a main cause for wars. Poor people have many needs that they are not able to fulfill, from food to warmth to shelter, and when they are desperate, a promise of providing some of the most basic of those needs will make them willing to do anything, for with all honestly, they might have nothing to lose. That is for absolute poverty, but even less poor societies can be easily controlled, for they are most likely un-educated. Education makes wise people and wise people can be more difficult to control. Having said that, educated people are still prone for brainwashing, only instead of religion or poverty, scientific, economic and social beliefs can be used. Believing your economic policy is perfect or that your race is supreme et cetera, are all aspects one can use to control others and make them willing to wage war. Fanatics are lethal.

If there is no ideal that you can make enough people fanatical about, or people are becoming wiser and less easy to control, then the last tool you can use is fear. A scared person can get emotionally confused and thus an easy target to control. This tool is in high use currently, the so-called war on terror. After 9/11 and a bunch of other terrorist attacks (Madrid bombings, London tube bombings…), many people in the west have become scared and so they go to their governments for support, and currently, the US government has made the most of the situation. Scared citizens and a greedy government, it’s a recipe for destruction.
Most humans are simple minded, just trying to survive; however, there are a few humans out there who are a bit more ambitious than that and throughout history these people have created and used many tools to control the masses for their advantage, mostly to conquer and own more.
To have a war, you need at least one huge group of people who share a common social aspect, united with malicious intent. The most known social aspect used to unite people and give them enough reason to go to war is religion. Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. Crusades, Islamic Jihad and many other wars in the name of a so called god of a certain religion (which of course is the one and only true religion that is blessed by that so called god) are examples of when ignorant people are brainwashed by eloquent, charismatic and evil ‘men of god’ into believing that their faith is the ‘one’ and it deserves them dying and killing nonbelievers who do not want to join.

Religion is an amazing creation, for it is a very powerful tool to control the many simple minded people to go to war, for it deals with the unknown, with life after death, with nature et cetera. In the Aztec civilization, the main priest would demand a war against smaller tribes to capture humans for sacrifice to the gods for there to be rain for crops.


If there is no ideal that you can make enough people fanatical about, or people are becoming wiser and less easy to control, then the last tool you can use is fear. A scared person can get emotionally confused and thus an easy target to control. This tool is in high use currently, the so-called war on terror. After 9/11 and a bunch of other terrorist attacks (Madrid bombings, London tube bombings…), many people in the west have become scared and so they go to their governments for support, and currently, the US government has made the most of the situation. Scared citizens and a greedy government, it’s a recipe for destruction.
Most humans are simple minded, just trying to survive; however, there are a few humans out there who are a bit more ambitious than that and throughout history these people have created and used many tools to control the masses for their advantage, mostly to conquer and own more.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Crime and Internet: Spread the word – we’re gonna get ya!

If you turn on your computer and open up an internet browser, you can easily access all sorts of information about events, locations and news – anywhere. People are aware of many things that in previous years, they would not have, and not all of these things are good.
Everyone knows not all internet sites are good and progressive, from the most basic negative sites like porn and hate websites like www.fatpeoplearestupid.com to major hate websites like www.stormfront.org (a site dedicated to the supreme white race). Some websites are debatable, such as corporate hate sites set up by people to release their anger but ended up being very popular, such as American Express Sucks (www.Amexsux.com), Wal-Mart Blows (www.WalMart-Blows.com), Microsoft Eradication (www.MS-Eradication.org) and many more. Companies targeted view those as criminal hate sites but others as a critique site. Some websites are meant by their creators to be for releasing some steam or ranting but end up being abused by some more hateful members, such as in one anti-fat people site, a man posted a video of him beating up a fat kid, when the site was strictly for rants and was at times comical. Even YouTube had its share of violence, such as the major Teens invite a girl to their house then beat her up video which was used as evidence to arrest the teenagers. Beyond amateur hate videos, many organizations post videos and information online to spread fear and threaten. Taliban and other terrorist organizations post videos and photos of them beheading hostages or videos of their leaders’ speech. Major media channels play those videos and due to our globalized world, anyone can see it and including people who end up joining or who get influenced by the organizations. Mobs and gangs also fight for media coverage, for it is fee marketing, especially if the coverage depicts them as evil and dangerous.

The internet reaches all of us, directly and indirectly, straight into our computers, in our home or office. We love our computers and we pour our heart and soul into them, problem is, computers are not only that plastic container in front of us, it is virtually, the world. In our globalized world, what happens at home does not stay at home, good or bad.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Family and Work - Making a Difficult Decision Easy…
If I was to select a theme that I believe represents this age, my choice would be need, hands down. Countries of course need a good economy. To have a good economy you need mass production, and for mass production to be useful, you need mass consumption. To be able to consume a lot, you need a lot of money. To have a lot of money, you need to work a lot. In the beginning, years ago, women were not working so when they moved into the work force, households got more money, so they consumed more. So more could be produced, so the economies boomed. And thus we begin the super-fast progress.
Unfortunately, the economies still need to increase and for that more production is needed, thus more consumption, more money and more work is needed. Who is there left to work? Everyone is working! Thus everyone works more. And more. Usually people would not work more than they want or can, but they still do, because they need to. Just like the economy, people now never feel they have enough. To make it even worse, this need is infectious. From media to marketing, many everyday aspects help cultivate and strengthen those feelings. Even though you now have more than last year, it still is not enough and five years later, even though you have way more than now, you will still feel that you do not have enough. It is a vicious curve upwards, and a very steep curve it is. This need is making people work a lot, or make other people work a lot for companies also need more.
Our need is instilled in us well. We are reminded of it during our studies and then we it goes into action when we begin to work. It grows bigger and stronger as we work, make money and consume. Then, some marry. Some of those have children. The need is still there, it has not gone away. This need makes parents still desire to work. Now, some parents get over the need but with difficulty, and do some sacrifices to have some time to remain with their children. Others cannot and use the time to work more instead. Many have no choice, for the standard of living is always increasing and they cannot afford to sacrifice much for their children. The economy is very needy.
We should slow down. For how much longer can we continue to need? There should be a point where we decrease this speedy increase. I am not against the progress and improvement, just not so fast. Society should work to get rid of this need in the future, or at least make it less influential. I am not saying make everyone a hippie, just make it balanced. There should be more work-life balance. That way, there will be more free time in people’s lives. This time can be used for relaxation, taking care of children, cooking et cetera, basically this time will make people healthier, less stressed, thus, when the time to work comes, they will be more efficient.
Currently, due to the need that we all suffer from, most people decide to spend the free time on more work. Sadly, society, backed by the economy, applauds that. We should aim to get rid of that. Once people start to believe that using their free time to not work is a good choice, they will start to spend time with their children. Having free time should not be difficult, and choosing to have free time should not be this hard. In stead of this crazy need, there should be a good balance. One of my favorite lines from somewhere: I want to work to live not live to work.
Unfortunately, the economies still need to increase and for that more production is needed, thus more consumption, more money and more work is needed. Who is there left to work? Everyone is working! Thus everyone works more. And more. Usually people would not work more than they want or can, but they still do, because they need to. Just like the economy, people now never feel they have enough. To make it even worse, this need is infectious. From media to marketing, many everyday aspects help cultivate and strengthen those feelings. Even though you now have more than last year, it still is not enough and five years later, even though you have way more than now, you will still feel that you do not have enough. It is a vicious curve upwards, and a very steep curve it is. This need is making people work a lot, or make other people work a lot for companies also need more.
Our need is instilled in us well. We are reminded of it during our studies and then we it goes into action when we begin to work. It grows bigger and stronger as we work, make money and consume. Then, some marry. Some of those have children. The need is still there, it has not gone away. This need makes parents still desire to work. Now, some parents get over the need but with difficulty, and do some sacrifices to have some time to remain with their children. Others cannot and use the time to work more instead. Many have no choice, for the standard of living is always increasing and they cannot afford to sacrifice much for their children. The economy is very needy.
We should slow down. For how much longer can we continue to need? There should be a point where we decrease this speedy increase. I am not against the progress and improvement, just not so fast. Society should work to get rid of this need in the future, or at least make it less influential. I am not saying make everyone a hippie, just make it balanced. There should be more work-life balance. That way, there will be more free time in people’s lives. This time can be used for relaxation, taking care of children, cooking et cetera, basically this time will make people healthier, less stressed, thus, when the time to work comes, they will be more efficient.
Currently, due to the need that we all suffer from, most people decide to spend the free time on more work. Sadly, society, backed by the economy, applauds that. We should aim to get rid of that. Once people start to believe that using their free time to not work is a good choice, they will start to spend time with their children. Having free time should not be difficult, and choosing to have free time should not be this hard. In stead of this crazy need, there should be a good balance. One of my favorite lines from somewhere: I want to work to live not live to work.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Work and Trade - Free Trade: Some win a lot, some lose a lot…
Unfortunately, the world we live in is strongly controlled but the wealthy and powerful. And what is even worse is that the wealthy and powerful want even more wealth and power, thus creating an economically progressive policy misnamed as Free Trade. Is Free Trade good? The quick answer can be very easy, depending on what stand you take; the capitalist’s economic stand (Oh Yes!) or the populist’s moral stand (Hell No!).
Yes, Free Trade in the long term will help the economy of countries that have a comparative advantage at a certain industry. Also, it will provide cheaper and better options for the consumers and is generally economically progressive but only after paying a price, for some is small, for others, is big. The price being a major re-shaping of many economies and industries, and by re-shaping I mean lay-offs, industries going down et cetera, of course, which is a loss for working class people and smaller industries. There is that issue, and also the slave-labor phenomena in many developing countries where the poverty level is so low that people are pushed to work in terrible conditions with minimal pay just to survive and to provide for their families.
Back to the first issue, what is to be done with the laid off work force which can be as old as fifty and have been working in the now non-existent industry for years and have no other skills? The young might go back to school and get new skills, if they can afford it, but what about the rest? The ones with families to provide for or sick ones to care for, especially since in the US there is no universal health care and such programs that help the needy. So there is that price to pay what for? For the rich to get richer. Thus, for me to even consider being with Free Trade, just like the policy was created, I would like to see a policy that will protect those people I talked about, and make it in life to see the fruits of Free Trade that we were all promised and for which they made the biggest sacrifice.
So where did these industries move to? Oh yes, to help the developing countries! Of course! Help, is a relative term. Yes, they might provide jobs for the poor people of those nations but will they provide them with a healthy working environment and good pay? Current situation proves the opposite. Companies, unless forced, pay the absolute minimum wage and could not care less for the working environment. Thus, specific work environment and pay standards should be enforced all around the globe in order to protect the poor and weak people and for trade to be free and fair. Fair Trade is another policy created to improve the economies of nations and make trade more progressive economically, however, it is not as free as Free Trade, as in, the big companies are not free to do as they please, they have to provide a good working environment and basic pay for the work force they hire in developing countries. Fair, right?
Fair Trade is not perfect, and definitely is better than Free Trade but should be improved and worked on more. As for Free Trade, as nice as the thought of freedom is, there should be enough preparation done to introduce it into action. The world should not be a free place for the powerful and wealthy to use and abuse for their own good, but should be free and fair for all to live a happy, healthy life and provide the basic needs for it.



Fair Trade is not perfect, and definitely is better than Free Trade but should be improved and worked on more. As for Free Trade, as nice as the thought of freedom is, there should be enough preparation done to introduce it into action. The world should not be a free place for the powerful and wealthy to use and abuse for their own good, but should be free and fair for all to live a happy, healthy life and provide the basic needs for it.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Class and Inequalities: Capitalism and its Inequality

Capitalism is fundamentally the right that people be rewarded for their contribution to the common good, which is awesome, but in practice, entrepreneurship, economic risk, stock market and other “investment games” are unfair since the people who already own capital (already rich) have a way better advantage than the poorer people. Capitalism is technically good, but not ethically, for capitalistic profit is unfair: goods are made from human labor and non-human nature only but in capitalism, goods are made from human labor, non-human nature and capital thus the capitalistic profit but capitalists make no contribution to production yet get the biggest section of the profit.

Capitalism has six fundamental defects: massive inequality, demoralizing unemployment, unnecessary overwork, excruciating poverty (nationally and globally), lack of a real democracy and systematic and sustained environmental degradation. The justifications have moved from non-comparative to comparative, thus the main justification for capitalism is that There Is No Alternative (TINA). But is there?
There is of course communism but I do not believe it is superior to capitalist; it is just as flawed as capitalism. However, few nations have created hybrid economic policies that seem to be as technically successful as capitalism and with less inequality and more ethical. However, I do not have enough information about those policies to decide to follow them yet. However, to accept and follow a new economic policy, it should be both economically viable and ethically superior to capitalism and concrete enough for us to foresee how it would likely function in practice, when animated by the finite, imperfect human beings that we are.
On a sad note I must point out that pro-capitalists in order to keep the concept of capitalism’s superiority in the peoples’ minds, are changing what one believes is ethical. In the United States, movements such as Objectivism and Libertarianism where selfishness is the moral ideal are becoming more and more popular within the student and younger generation. So what I believe is ethical might not be considered ethical by others.
Statistics from: David Schweickart, After Capitalism (Lanham, MD.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC., 2002)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
An Ever Increasing Generation Gap

Parent-child differences, older-younger sibling differences and grandparent-child differences, all are differences that have been known to be caused naturally by the generation gap. Each generation has its own mentality. However, in this day and age, the differences have never been so immense even with the smallest age difference. Modern day globalization, unlike previously, is not just economic but also cultural, and this aspect has created huge a generation gap that has affected families, often in a negative way.
Due to cultural globalization, many cultures are getting affected by other ones. This effect is more visible in countries that posses a culture different than the main world powers’ culture. (Which is mostly American culture) People are getting exposed to so many different things that some understand it while others do not, and it is mostly the younger generation that grasp it. Globalization, the cultural aspect of it of course, affects lifestyle, fashion, music, art, behavior, food and mentality in general.
How does this affect families? Well, the parents were brought up in a certain culture and thus they posses a certain mentality. They raise their children with that mentality however the culture those children are living is very different, and also the culture their younger siblings are living in is also very different. So basically, this leads to a huge misunderstanding and miscommunication issue within the family which, if not dealt with properly, leads to many social problems since the families are becoming unstable and stable families is a main building block for good societies.
Now, I will talk about the country and culture I know most, my own, Lebanon. Lifestyle, the field which causes maybe the most clashes: smoking, drugs, clubbing, drinking, sex et cetera are all new lifestyle habits that my ancestral generations did not have and the generation before me got first exposed to and now it is a natural thing. At my grandparents time, there was nothing of the sort, at my parents time smoking and disco was introduced, at my time drinking and pop music was introduced and now at my younger brother’s time (the electro generation) hardcore electric beats accompanied with drugs and alcohol is the trend. Fashion is the field where many disagreements occur. What my mom wears is totally different than what my younger sisters wear which is different than what my friends wear. Same goes for music and art. Today’s art and music is different than 5 years ago, which is different than 10 years ago which is different than 15. Behavior and gender roles differ from generation to generation also. Independence, sexual liberation, marriage and individualism, all are at a different strength in the mentality of people from different generations, most of these thought movements are foreign influence. My parents met and married, I started dating in college, and my younger brother started dating in middle school. My grandparents met for the first time at their wedding. Food is not negative but the difference can be very visible. My mom has never tried sushi. My grandparents do not know what sushi is. My younger brother worships it. I do not like it. (Japanese influence. Sushi is not a Mediterranean dish.)
All of these differences and many more, are due to foreign culture influence which in turn is due to globalization. Music, movies, magazines, internet, television et cetera, all influence people but each generation is influenced in a certain amount. Some of these differences are not precisely negative. For example, my dad and I are watching TV, and an unknown word pops up, what happens? My dad goes to the house bookshelves and picks up a dictionary and looks up the word. I, on the other hand, go to the computer, open up Google, Wikipedia or dictionary.com and look up the word. However, very often the differences cause clashes which sometimes can cause major family problems. There should be more caution and more awareness regarding this ever increasing age gap.
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