Are we screwed?

I will use this topic to present ideas of interest as to the problems we face, and the problems we create. I intend really no political comment, although some of the things may be rooted in leadership or lack there of.

My first installment here is a documentary called Earthlings. I implore you to see it. It is free, and I have provided the link. Please, if you do intend to watch it, watch it in its entirety. You may be compelled by the visuals to stop watching, but that would lead to an incomplete understanding of the issue, and would be the equivalent of turning a blind eye. This documentary is an hour and a half.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4093730216074063220

After watching, ask yourself if this is absolutely necessary. Ask if you have the heart to sit idley and allow this to be your species' legacy. If you find no horror here, then I feel as though we have failed. If you find no horror here, then I need not ask this question further, Are we screwed?

My second installment is a documentary is called The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis. It was made in 1987, exactly 20 years ago. This documentary is not only extremely valid today, but also gives a good (but not nearly comprehensive) history of the US government's subversive activities. It should be noted that this documentary does not deal with conspiracy theories and is firmly rooted in fact. The evidence presented here is undisputed and is widely accepted as fact. Many authors have written many compelling books on the subject contained within this film.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3505348655137118430&q=documentary&total=108001&start=50&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2

After watching, compare the issues of that day with our day, and ask the question "Why is history doomed to repeat itself?" Also, note that every fall of every nation in history, that was not due to a violent usurpation, was due to corruption. If America really is the world leader in ethics and a testament to the good of humanity, how are we to act like it when we have no public oversight of what actually happens? We cannot do good in the world when the power is so heavily weighted in the hands of a few (largely business) men.

My third installment deals with the concept of peak oil. I have been following Hubbert theory and peak oil for some time. I think this documentary is enough to make people think about this very serious impending problem, or at least make them aware of it. Most people have no idea what Hubbert theory is and while this documentary make no mention of him, the concept is rightfully his. This documentary is called The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream. This is not the whole film however. It is missing 20 minutes or so of original footage, but it still manages to make its point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug

After watching, consider what you do to mitigate this problem, if anything. Also, think of ways that you can ensure your own security in the future. You may not currently have the resources to do something meaningful, but you may want to think about saving money and perparing for the downward slope of peak oil.

The 4th documentary is called Iraq for sale. It deals with the private military contracts that are running rampant in Iraq right now. It makes it clear why we went and why we stay. I don't deny that there are bad people in Iraq, but if it were purely a humanitarian effort, we would have been in Rawanda or the Congo or Liberia instead. I know that my veiws are considered radical, but I do base them on facts, and this film backs me up on my stance. It was recommended to me my brother who serves in a chemical battalion in the US army. When he said he could get into trouble for advocating this film, I just had to see it. I would definately like Bahr to see it (if you haven't already), as he started a thread on this very subject, and he serves in the marines. Hopefully he won't have the same problems these marines complain about when he goes to Iraq.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6621486727392146155

Try to picture this: If this is the main motivating force behind this war, would it be fair to assume that this is the driving force behind other American wars and American foreign policy in general? Is it always "business as usual"? Eisenhower warned in his fairwell address that we should fear the "military-industrial complex" (MIC). He feared that it would lead to many senseless wars and deaths in the name of profits. Have we as a nation heeded his advice? It should be understood that private military contracts within a warzone fall somewhat outside of the traditional notion of the MIC. I don't believe that even Eisenhower could have predicted this, and if he did, then our refusal to heed his prophetic words has surely been one of America's great blunders.

The 5th documentary I linked to is called Loose Change. I understand that many of you are probably familiar with this film and its claims, however, those of you that have not seen it should. I am aware of the criticism this film has recieved, but the film actually implicates no one. Not only that, but many of the questions raised here are valid, and extremely so. Most of the "debunking" of this film has been, itself, debunked. What really needs to be asked is why there has not been a second investigation of the events surrounding 9/11. One of my favorite claims made in order to debunk his film is that they recovered DNA of the hijackers. Not only can DNA not survive the heat that the official explaination calims would have been necessary to result in validating the claim of the cause of the towers' collapse, but where did they get the DNA with which to compare the samples found? Its not like the hijackers submitted their DNA to the gov't before they stole the planes. So, when they claim that, they shoot their argument in the proverbial foot.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7866929448192753501

Also, Osama Bin Laden said that he did not bomb the Towers. Now you may think he is just covering his ass, but ask this question: Doesn't that defeat the purpose of terrorism? Wouldn't a terrorist bomb you and then say "I mean business, BE AFRAID OF ME"? There is no message conveyed by bombing someone and then feigning innocence.

WTF on the first video, i mean come on. Every species exploits other species because of the survival instinct. Does this mean i should not kill a mosquito when it bites me, according to the first video it would be wrong. Is that a PETA video? PETA seriously turns it's blind eye on "the real world" when it thinks that animals just want to live together in harmony. Is that video serious? Think about it critically and you will see the faults in the logic of it.

I do agree with the "Iraq For Sale" video's points.

There's a difference between expliotation and what is going on in the first video. We nned to eat, okay, agreed, but do we NEED to beat helpless animals? Do we need to hunt them to extinction? Do we need to cage them for our amusement? I don't think that the logic is faulty. Its not just PETA that has an issue with the meat industry. Medical doctors have been weel aware of the problems that hormones and chemicals like BGH cause on humans. A whole host of neurological disorders, reproductive disorders, and causing girls to go through puberty at 8 or 9 instead of 11-13. This is just what I have committed to memory, there is much more out there. I'm ot a PETA supproter, but that video is horrifying. Othyer animals do not exploit each other. I have never seen one case of a wild animal killing for pleasure, or inflicting harm for their own ego. Both of these things are inflicted by humans all the time, every day. You may believe in that dominion over animals rubbish, but there was a time in human existance where the animals were seen as our friends and allies. Even so, it must be understood that without them, we cannot exist; plain and simple. There is not ONE scientist on earth that speaks to the contrary. I'm not interested in preserving humans, we are a virus with shoes, but I will preserve the beauty of this natural world. It is one of the few good things left.