Archive for December, 2012

Communication, information, exchange, control

Thursday, December 20th, 2012

The ITU has recently held a meeting in Dubai about international telecommunication.

CDNet writes: “The US, UK, Canada and Australia walked away from negotiations on Thursday, over fears that the finalised text of the new ITRs could be interpreted as giving the ITU, a UN agency, control over elements of the internet. This was in turn seen as a way of giving governments greater powers of censorship.”

The ITU is a UN unit and here is what they say about themselves:

“ITU (International Telecommunication Union) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.

We allocate global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.
ITU is committed to connecting all the world’s people – wherever they live and whatever their means. Through our work, we protect and support everyone’s fundamental right to communicate.”

Another organisation ICANN is doing the specifics of the internet.

They say about themselves: ”What Does ICANN Do? How Does ICANN Work?

Consensus-driven.

Through its By-laws, processes, and international meetings, ICANN provides the arena where all advocates can discuss Internet policy issues. Almost anyone can join most of ICANN’s volunteer Working Groups, assuring broad representation of the world’s perspectives. Hearing all points of view, searching for mutual interests, and working toward consensus take time, but the process resists capture by any single interest – an important consideration when managing a resource as vital as the global Internet.

Multi-stakeholder model.

ICANN’s inclusive approach treats the public sector, the private sector, and technical experts as peers. In the ICANN community, you’ll find registries, registrars, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), intellectual property advocates, commercial and business interests, non-commercial and non-profit interests, representation from more than 100 governments, and a global array of individual Internet users. All points of view receive consideration on their own merits.ICANN’s fundamental belief is that all users of the Internet deserve a say in how it is run.

To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer — a name or a number. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination, we wouldn’t have one global Internet.

In more technical terms, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name system management, and root server system management functions. These services were originally performed under U.S. Government contract by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and other entities. ICANN now performs the IANA function.

Besides providing technical operations of vital DNS resources, ICANN also defines policies for how the “names and numbers” of the Internet should run. The work moves forward in a style we describe as the “bottom-up, consensus-driven, multi-stakeholder model”

It is time for some reflection on the internet and global communication.

Recent issues have been

  • formal government control, the right to check what is going on
  • repression of exchange of opinion, debate
  • cybercrime
  • cyber-security for business, government
  • sensorship on many levels, mediacontrol
  • the influence of private interests of many kinds
  • corporate control of the internet, owning the internet, pricing the internet
  • diversification of the price structure, fast lanes, distance costs
  • allowing anonymous presence
  • access to the virtual territory of a country, working from outside a country for political or commercial reasons
  • several systems

The internet is clearly a common pool resource and should be worked like one. This means that the users, of which there is a multitude, should decide the future development of the internet. The ITU must be seen as part of the political system and they can have their say, but the diversity is too great for a political body to run this,  and the interests of freedom and independence should prevail. Many must be heard and many must have their individual ways.

Politics must therefore clearly be kept out as this is about the right to communicate, to have effective interchange. Nobody dictates where air is, where water is, who can use the roads, and everybody can have electricity etc. It is important to establish a long term, even permanent, will to make this a truly open and common resource.

Nobody should be allowed to interfere with an equality-based free internet. ICANN or a similar unit should supervise the net.

We must not lose what it has become, and it must progress further to the benefit of all stakeholders.

Making our culture part of our lives

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

The concept of culture is hard for people living now to describe and to fathom – to see what the state of their culture is now. The buzz and bustle of daily life sucks you up, significant factors are often elusive and not so easy to discern. It is often left to historians to say what the past culture was.

Everything we do is culture, so the concept is all-encompassing – behaviour, food, drink, entertainment, politics, work, entertainment, religion, habits…..

Our culture is materialistic, spiritual values are sorely lacking, money is all. Moral values are hard to see in practice, nobody speaks about the concept of culture, there is no public discussion taking place. Such are some of the catchwords being used.

The concept of culture should be alive, we should see and reflect upon what goes on. There should be openness related to culture and its direction in a society. Culture is about our lives now. It is near you, it happens where you are. All culture is local, it can not happen elsewhere, conditions are different everywhere, so culture adapts to locality. Remember also that diversity is a great thing.

If we do not know what culture is, if we are unconscious in our handling of what we do, we do not know what to do to have a beneficial culture.

In Norway we had a massive killing in the summer of 2011. A single person perpetrated the act. The debate afterwards has been focused on administrative matters related to who was the most to blame for the lack of preparation and knowledge beforehand, the lack of ability to stop the shootings. What we saw was a total lack of preparations, inept handling of the situation as it developed and enormous diffuseness in peoples understanding of their responsibility as part of their jobs. As the process of understanding how this tragic happening came about grows on us and we see what happens now, the words responsibility and accountability have lost their meaning.

There should now be a deliberation of the cultural side of this – is there a need to assess Norwegian culture widely when such a happening can occur the way it did? Was this a single incident or may we see similar happenings? Are there non-beneficial factors at work in Norway?

In the US a school-shooting took place with a terrible outcome. Several other shootings have taken place recently and long before. Many matters have come up, among them gun-laws, medication practices related to mind altering drugs.

The US has also seen the Occupy Movement, strong criticism related to economic stratification of society, monopolistic corporate practices, lack of interest in environmental matters, the huge importance of greed and competition, the lack of ubiquitous welfare systems, the use of violence. The spending on military activity on such a huge scale surely can not go on for long.

Race and nationality is another matter in the world today. Large numbers of people are moving around, influencing the places they go to. This has always been an important factor in the US where millions have come to live their lives in the land of opportunity. Now there is pressure building, everybody is a foreigner it seems, practising their own cultures, and the ability to foster a common culture is hard to find. Even languages are not so sure anymore, Spanish may possibly soon be the dominant language.

This turn of events is now also coming to Norway where multiculturalism is building, and religious contention is the order of the day. The Nordic model may not last forever as the big organisations and corporations are having a dominant share of the political pie. Politics is no longer a participative activity with open deliberation and free debate as power games and party politicking is the order of the day.

The Chinese seems to be in a different situation where building welfare and equality is the foremost priority. The culture is seemingly uniform, but pressures related to urbanisation, income distribution, and foreign issues are moving up the political agenda.

Their political system is also being criticised due to its lack of alternatives, lack of real debate about big issues and no real elective processes. Mao’s great leap forward was a perfect disaster, and a political system where this kind of happening could take place surely must be improved.

The economic system is another matter, including its basic principles, where we truly can say that there are grave faults at work.

Everywhere there is psychosocial dynamism where issues like equality of the sexes, racism, xenophobia, religious differences are present.

Propaganda is the order of the day with public relations and information workers always very busy plying their trade in the spirit of mr. Bernays who wanted to crystallize public opinion into one.

Everywhere pressure is building, and people are nowhere participating in broad mass reflections about where this change is taking us. There are not many reflections taking place, the media, the politicians are busy powerbroking, trying to fix the economy. The masses of people are busy working and entertaining themselves. Society is superficial as everything hinges on worthless rituals.

Broad cultural issues are not present, writing or talk on issues affecting our daily lives are to be found only in a few places – where the oddballs are. Maybe this is like it always were. We are too busy living our lives to have time for culture and deeper issues.

The common idea in the world of using centralized politics to control countries, and further engaging in world wide activities as an extension of that is proving to be harmful, unfulfilling and even dangerous.

Informed self-governance is a long way off, broad participative processe also. Wise democracies based on collective wisdom is now rare. It is everywhere different in detail, but on a higher level it is very much the same-same.

But once in while do sit back and reflect, invite some people to join you and try to see what you have and what you would like to have. Do not even think of involving media as they will not be interested.

But reflection and deliberation is important and useful as it clears your mind, and let the ones near you know what you think, and spread the word. Progress will surely be seen if we all do a little bit of deep cultural work.

How will history measure our culture – the things we do that shape our culture?

The erosion of personality and the slavery of money

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

We live in a culture where working for others is a requirement, a necessity and what we all do. What you do every day is make things or perform services for others. Nothing of what you do is for yourself. You serve others in order  to survive.

Everything you need you buy from others like you. To be able to do that you must have paid work.

Division of labour and efficiency criteria are pushing this culture further along all the time. We have lost track of the origin of money, what we really need and the money system has led our society into a straitjacket.

There is use of money, constant competition for everything, there is constant change in all areas. High activity is good, and growth is good.

You have to work for a boss, make him happy or you have to have customers that you must make happy.

This is reinforced by investors and others wanting to make a profit that is as big as possible. You are pressured and enticed into working more, you get more money, and the owners get more money.

If you do not make them happy you do not get any money. You are living under a force.

This system reduces quality of life to nothing, most people are not deeply happy. You become totally dependent upon money, all your needs are material, all you do is centered around money. You gradually become driven to do more, everything hinges on money that you must have. This goes on and on and never stops.

This is a perfect system of slavery, and you have become a slave. Gradually you realise this, but since the rewards are satisfactory and the release mechanism is hidden you accept it.

When you have money you can get whatever you want. So to lessen your spiritual pain you try to do just that and you go for it. All people will do whatever is wanted if the money is good enough, and the same goes for you. We all work for the people with money that are our masters, and we are masters also.

The forces and pressures start to build and you must compete, surpass and outshine others. The values controlling the system is competition, greed, smartness and all of them bring you money if you succeed. Many will not succeed.

The result is an erosion of personality as you lose yourself and your ability to do what pleases you most times. You have masters telling you their wishes and you must do what they say or the money stops. Money is the real boss, your master.

As operations get more and more efficient, there will be fewer and fewer jobs. The future is jobless, you are not needed. This is the systematic error of it all.

Community is nearly impossible in a highly monetized society like our own.

This is because community is woven from gifts and free services going back and forth, which is ultimately why people without money have stronger communities than we have.

With us if you are financially independent you don’t depend on your neighbours or any other specific person for anything. You can just pay somebody and they will do it for you.

In the long run and if you start to think about it you see what happens to you. Your personality suffers, you are locked in a system and the way out is hard to find. Society suffers to.

In a good world you work for yourself and your nearest, decide what to do yourself, make what you and others near you need which will make you deeply satisfied, and spend the rest of the time pursuing activities that make you happier still.

But we can not go back anymore, the system is good as it bring abundance so the ties to money are here to stay they say. Or is there really a better way? Things are stirring in peoples minds now for better solutions, for value creation and no money-mongering. New systems, new methods like bitcoin, green dollars are in the works…

If there is ample will in you this situation can be changed. You can regain your personality as you reduce your dependence upon money. The importance of this question is growing fast, the spirit is rising.

Chinese peaceful rise 和平崛起 to the top of the world

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

The Chinese are in the process of establishing a new leadership group for the country that is in the middle of the world. 7 men are now establishing themselves in the new roles they have been given.

China is growing in many ways, both economically and politically. The challenges are huge and there are all sorts of expectations built into what we think China will do.

The new leadership is

  • 习近平 Xi Jinping
  • 李克强 Li Keqian
  • 张德江 Zhang Dejiang
  • 俞正声 Yu Zhengshen
  • 刘云山 Liu Yunshan
  • 王岐山 Wang Qishan
  • Zhang Gaoli

The new leaders are the 5th generation of leaders. They are all well educated, well travelled, well cultured and are obviously stepping forward as part of a well planned process.

Major areas of concern now seems to be economics and finance with China in the process of taking over the role as the biggest economy in the world from the US. Internally corruption has had some attention and is expected to be an area of hard work.

China 2030
Building a Modern, Harmonious, and
Creative High-Income Society
The World Bank
Development Research Center of the
State Council, the People’s Republic of China

The report “China 2030 - Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society” has been made in cooperation between The World Bank and Development Research Center of the State Council, the People’s Republic of China. Here we find indications of the lines of work to be pursued by the new leaders: the importance of adapting to local initiative and interregional competition; integrating with the world; adjusting to new technologies; building world-class infrastructure; and investing heavily in its people.

The challenges of China are many and the new leaders seem well set to do good work. The major challenge seem to be to enriching the nation and improve social welfare, liberalizing the economy, unchecking the state monopolies, balancing exports and internal consumption, modernity as related to technology, blogging, internet.

The relation between China and the US/the West is in a cautious state. The West has traditionally needed enemies to be “normal”. Among the enemies now are Iran, Venezuela, Northern Korea, Zimbabwe. China is cooperating with these countries, and many others. The Chinese role in Africa comprising huge investments is under attack in western media, but that could be part of a public relations campaign.

China is hunting for resources like oil, gas, minerals, metals and there will be future conflicts of interest in this area.

Arctic policy is being downplayed now, and the opinions in China are diverse on this theme.

The South China Sea area is also contested and much needs to be clarified there. The power balance in Asia is shifting as Asia rises, the US has to turn its focus this way now.

Must there be a strategy based on enmity, of high-spotting, of stress and strain or will the West and the Chinese meet the challenges maturely? Maybe not as Australia, China and the US is planning joint military exercises in order to improve security and stability in the Pacific. The rest of nearby nations might be interested too?

The new leadership of mr. Xi seems to want to present themselves as accessible and personable, with reasonable security and formalities.

Attention will be given to Chinese culture and thinking too: Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Deng , Mao etc.  Chinese leadership philosophies and practices will be scrutinised, measuring Chinese ideas versus Western ideas.

To name some obvious challenges we have the condition of underdevelopment that is seen in many parts of China, urbanizing, economic entrepreneurship versus state monopolies.

The concept of peaceful rise 和平崛起 has been put forward. China wants to be seen as a nonthreatening global power, a good neighbour fostering stable relations.

The question of Taiwan is still there, and leadership jealousies will also be watched closely.

The people of China will probably go forward as part of ongoing processes, and infusions of new good leadership will most likely be helpful too. The sad memories of Mao’s cultural revolution with tens of millions dead are still lingering, but is now kept tightly subdued. When the government of a country can enact such an upheaval people must beware.

So now we look forward, we are all watching, so you better do well. The US is surely working hard on its security policies that they call their global strategies. The US– China Strategic and Economic Dialogue established in 2009  must surely continue.

Calm sailing everybody, please. Remember that China is different.

The climate challenge has not been taken well. Deep ecology is a much better case to work for.

Saturday, December 8th, 2012

The climate challenge has turned into politics and scientific consensus has been blown away. This way nothing much will happen. The present DOHA climate meeting will produce nothing – or maybe a trifle, a prolongation.

Global warming is a hypothesis about the future of the Earth’s climate. The IPCC has postulated that in a 100 years time the temperature of the Earth is likely to or will probably rise by about one degree Celsius. There is a kind of consensus now that the average temperature rise since measurements started about 100 years ago is about three quarters of a degree Celsius.

The temperature discussion has gyrated wildly into claims that this increase already has happened and that the nearterm increase will be 5-10 degrees centigrade. No documentation of this is offered.

The concept of a global average temperature is doubtful as the geographical, seasonal, purely local and incident related variations are great over time, or year by year.

At present there is about 400-440 ppm of CO2 in the air around us, and it is estimated that the amount produced by humans is about 15-25 ppm or about 5%. The correlation between CO2 and temperature is not precisely known.

The biggest emitters counted by CO2 emissions per head are now the industrialized nations led by the US, but the biggest polluter is probably China. The general situation is that emissions continue to increase.

The situation is best described as lacking a decision of resolution.

The temperature measurements are done by several organisations like IPCC, NASA, NOOVA, UK Met Office. A new contender is The Berkeley Earth Project. They are intent on making a scientific data picture of the Earth that can be part of a consensus. It appears previous data are not precise, have systematic biases, the number and placing of measurement points are not well set. Sooner or later the right temperature situation will emerge?

Then geo-engineering comes up, may as an indication of the impatience of some people.   Technologists say they can solve the CO2 conundrum by engineering the Earth in various ways. A businessman named mr. George has fed the algae in the sea so that they can eat CO2 and by doing this he has caused a stir. The morals, ethics, governance principles, effectiveness, consequences are not clear.

It is also clear that known geo-engineering is already taking place all over the world. Remember also claims that spraying of the air already is done in secret projects via planes flying in many parts of the world, but this has never been substantiated.

Geo-engineering projects often take the form of one or more of  these:

  • administering precipitation changes
  • air capture
  • solar radiation management
  • ocean mangement
  • structures, landscaping
  • water management
  • radiation issues

The confusion in this area is now massive. Geo-engineering is a rogues business at the moment as the international agreements are simply not there. The Earth is a common resource for the people of the world and we need some sort of common resource management if this shall be good for us. The law, the science, the ethics, the politics, the technology are not in the least clear and wee should keep off until these matters have been looked into. Elin Ostrom has said much sensible about common resource pool management, she even got a Nobel prize for it.

The realism concerning effectiveness seems absent. Managing resources like the Earth’s water and air  is a massive undertaking requiring huge machinery, the scale of which has never been seen before. The consequences of mistakes can be devastating and catastrophic.

And what if the scientific basis for it all is lacking – there is no need to take away CO2?

Whatever happens we must see to it that the scientific basis is there. The first thing to do must always be to reduce emissions if they are too high to be sustainable. Geo-engineering can never be more than a supplement to reductions.

For the time being forget geo-engineering.

Global warming is possibly not the main issue as there are many more emissions and issues to handle. The real issue might be deep ecology, or the sustainability of the  cosmic system, environmentalism in a much wider sense than global warming.

Making the Earth thrive is what the issue is..

The concept of public opinion is false

Wednesday, December 5th, 2012

Our societies are all said to hold a common opinion – a public opinion.

Such an opinion can only be expressed through a channel or medium. Channels in our society are few, they are called media and they are all controlled by a few. The messages in these channels are presented as public opinion. Remember that the the controllers of the channels use the available channels consciously for their own ends.

Therefore there is not a collective opinion, common opinion or public opinion because all opinions are made by a few. To find the public opinion one would have to search widely to find if there indeed is a common opinion.

The controllers of channels can however state that what they say is public opinion, so that most people are behind said opinion.

Since channels are so few protests against these statements issued as public opinion are futile. You are not allowed into the channel to state your view and nobody else is either. If your views are contrary to those of the controllers they simply keep you out, and so what they say is public opinion stands. If you insist or try to force your opinion into a channel you will see all kinds of trouble.

Bear in mind that people are very sympathetic to the concept of public opinion. People wish to identify themselves with others, people want to be part of a wholeness and to belong. If the controllers of channels are wise, timely and clever they create messages that include you and make you part of a wholeness – your opinion is identical with public opinion. These messages are factual, contextual and have a form that is hard to refute. They are usually part of a concept the controllers of channels want to promote. They are often so complex that individuals  lose interest and accept what is presented. This goes on over long periods of time.

The forming of a wholeness that the individual can see is essential as this makes him belong and at the same time makes him think of himself as worthy and by holding these public opinions he is seen as worthy in the eyes of others. The technique of high-spotting is common in these contexts.

This means that the controllers of channels can form your behaviour and your decisions. Your activity becomes the same as that of many others. You are not aware of it, but what you think and do has become what many others do. The initial feeling is that of comfort – you are included among many good people.

The techniques used are those of propaganda and the tool is mass media communication.

The ethics and morals of propaganda are left to all to judge, but no one is coerced into following the propaganda. The process can be seen if you are alert, clever and conscious and at all interested, then you can see that manipulation is intended.

There is little doubt that propaganda is used extensively in our societies and that we as individuals are reduced to creatures of the masses – we are all one of the masses and we all mostly do what the masses do which is the same the masters of the channels want. For most people the reward and pickings  of following the propaganda are seemingly rich: you belong, you participate, you have a good standard of living. Is there more?

Yes there is and we should all start to think deeper than we do today. This is slavery, you have to work more than 40 hours a week for more than 40 years to be part of the system. Your are a repeater, your potential is not used at all, you hardly scratch the surface of what there is in you.

You could be a conscious individual, use your creativity, be independent and free and do what you want. Being your own men and women could be the result, getting up every morning with an open agenda or one that you have fully made for yourself.

Realize that you do not need the very few channels there are. They only  want to hook you up, to use you. They are always controlled by others over which you have no influence, they subdue you.

You only need what you have in yourself, what you freely decide and what you freely take from others. Then you will be free, and society will be diverse and much more interesting

Crystallizing the public mind

Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

It has been said that no word has been so twisted as the word propaganda. The overtones are negative, but it still is practiced massively and at an advanced level in the modern world. It is a potent tool and it works well.

Propaganda is imperceptible, it is anonymous, it is clever, it is continuous, sometimes it is blatant, it has many forms – more than you can imagine, it is common, it is steadfast, if you expose it it changes its form – it is called public relations or publicity or advertising, but it is propaganda and it is directed at you personally in order to make you have certain desired attitudes. It is also directed at everybody else so that in sum it is making you behave like most other people. Propaganda makes you one of the masses, your mind has been crystallized into what the instigator of propaganda has intended.

Propaganda has become somewhat tainted as a concept and the modern words that are used are public relations or even information practices. But whatever the dress, it is wolf all the same so let propaganda be the name.

The definition of propaganda is not precise – it can be many things. It has to do with psychological action, education, public and human relations, but ends up by making you and the masses conform.

Mr. Bernays from the US is one of the fathers of public relations. He talks about crystallizing the public mind so that people think alike, and there is no confusion in society about what to do. Mr. Bernays has also written a book called Propaganda.

Mr. Ellul from France has written extensively on propaganda or the formation of men’s attitudes.

There is no doubt about it: We are all the aim of propaganda. It has been used consciously for centuries. The Germans had a propaganda ministry during WWII . The Turks or Osmans used advanced processes to overtake others including information that they would be taken and continuously playing janissar music until a military victory was achieved. Many governments, companies, organisations, individuals have been and are using propaganda to form opinion, to help us understand better what it is all about, and to do the right things.

Propaganda is probably first and foremost a sociological thing, it is not really about each one of us at all, it is about forming the decisions we collectively take. At the same time the propagandist must not forget the individual. Modern propaganda is therefore a complex powerful force and there is normally not much you can do to resist the impulses created.

If you want to find out what it is about, how you can resist it you must be very alert and determined and work hard. Propaganda is often soft and slippery and will lure your mind.

In a democratic society conscious and intelligent manipulation of what we usually do is done all the time. People we don’t see or have ever heard of are working to govern us, mould our minds, form our tastes, suggest ideas, show us effects. Many people are making a living rom propaganda.

The propagandist say that propaganda is required if society shall function well. The public mind must be focused or things will fall apart they say.

The propagandists see themselves as the key people of society, a small number of people placing themselves above us. These people understand us so well that they can guide us in the direction they want. Force is no use, elegance does it.

The plurality and diversity of society is slowly taken from us as propaganda fosters only one mindset, one way that is desirable, all others are suspect with negative connotations. The big issues are chosen for us and they are high-spotted so there is no doubt. Our minds are continuously targeted on behalf of policies, products and ideas.

Behind it all is competition in all its forms, the few are allowed to win by their competitive strengths which are capital, leadership and aggressiveness.

The results are widespread manipulation, use of huge personal egos and massive activity of all kinds – shows, competitions, advertising, stars, gifts….

Some say propaganda is indeed invisible government. Its technical means are well developed and they will get us all into the mindset of a few but big choices. Ideas are touted persistently and the technological society makes it possible. A common design is made for us, the possibility of global oneness is there with huge winnings made possible. Technologically we are developing fantastically and we are surely moving.

The themes of propaganda are racial, religious, social, political, sex, economical and the advantage of a coordination is obvious. The propagandist want an organized coordination of all things resulting in a group mindset and simplified mass thinking.

Yes you have seen it coming: We are being massively manipulated, and the means used are comprehensive, artful, knowledgeable – the media, the advertising, movies, activities of many kinds.

It is all really about power and domination, social issues, money. We are being used by others and we behave as if we like it. Our lives are shaped by others.

It could be otherwise – your life could be your own, made by you yourself. Don’t think or worry about propaganda, think deeply about yourself, choose and decide it all yourself, move in your own direction, be a creator of diversity.

War is an unstoppable force and it is easier than ever to kill people

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

The history of humanity is the history of wars. It is a sad story because it has been long and gruesome and it is not about to end anytime soon. The willingness to kill is not abating. The ease with which we can kill is now greater than ever. 60 million people were killed in WWII, and lately millions are being killed in numerous wars all over the world, they are many and just will not end.

A newly developed rocket system from Norway can be fitted to planes of many kinds, it can be launched from boats at sea. It will probably sell in thousands. The media is full of reports of innovation in weapons. The jobs and the money are the main issues. Morals is no longer on the agenda.

The latest is the build up of bases for drones or global hawks that can survey the Earth from a height of 60000 feet or twice the height of commercial planes. In Afghanistan drones are equipped with weapons too, and the Israeli shield against rockets from Gaza can shoot down most incoming missiles. The Chinese have built a cruiser and a fighter plane has successfully landed on it. And there is a cyberwar coming up.

There is continuous innovation in weaponry, there is no end to that, there is continuous killing and there is no end to that. Making and selling weapons is big business, the size of the business is huge, profits can be taken quite easily. Everybody that wants to kill has ample supplies of weapons, and the big shootout represented by a new world war is looming.

Sitting back in a cool and logical frame of mind surveying the situation one can justifiably say that this is a picture of an insalubrious world.. The leaders of the world are at the moment making the world insalubrious.

The main force behind this is the US. It is a permanently militarized nation, just like Israel, many Arab countries. The US military budget is about 50% of the world’s military budget, as well as being far too big for the US to sustain for much longer. Many  nations have huge exports of weapons. The total worth of weapons procurement is probably  more than a trillion dollars worth (Wikipedia Arms Industry).

It is all about security now, it is not so much about occupation any more, it is about security and stability, it is about making wars to be able to stop wars they say (Obama).

The US drones are being spread around, NATO has them, drones are used in Afghanistan, there are bases in Australia…. Nobody knows any longer where they are and will be. Maybe other nations have drones too. Drones can easily be turned into robots that are dispatched from a base, carrying its own intelligence and doing a predetermined job. The risks are unfathomable and this is a cynical game.

The history of wars is one of  bows and arrows, horses, shielding, spears, swords, explosives, engines for planes and vehicles, automatic weapons, telecommunications, flamethrowers, toxic weapons, radars, drones, atomic bombs, helicopters, starwars, shields, atomic subs, guided missiles, lasers, neurological substances, cyberwars, robots that kill, advanced control and guidance systems.

There is profits to be had, there are jobs in the thousands so this will just keep on rolling. The politics and public relations efforts are joining in building great forces powering it all.

What we can do, each of us? Turn your attention elsewhere, think of good deeds to do for yourself and your nearest, work hard to have a good life. There is not much else you can do till your time comes. Do not worry, it is no use.

This is big, you know.

Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949. They are are probably using their money for better things than military expenses: The budget previously dedicated to the military now is dedicated to security, education and culture”. President Eisenhower said that for the price of a destroyer you could build several thousand houses for people.

What do you think?