OPINION

12/26/2001

Well, it's been some time since I've written anything in here. There's still great volatility across the world right now. A few days before Christmas a terrorist almost blew up a plane with a bomb inside of his sneaker consisting of plastic explosives similar to C-4. That bastard. I hope he get's life. Although, he's most likely only getting 20 years. He was a big dude and it took 4 guys and bunch of seditives to knock him out. Today's news reports are suggesting that he may be related to Al-Quida. In other news, Pakistan and India are on the brink of their 4th war since their independance from Britain in 1947. If this was any other country in Africa, it probably wouldn't have much fanfare in the news unfortunately. However, during the 1990s, these countries acquired nuclear weapons. Considering that they have mid-range missles that can easily take out millions/billions of people, it's a major concern. Both of these countries are strong allies in the war against Terror. Therefore, the Bush administration is upset about the current situation. Right now a great number of forces on both sides are up on the border and missles are pointing towards each others countries right now. This is all occurring because of a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in mid-December that killed 14 members of their congress. Obviously this pissed off India. India is blaming Pakistani intelligence in supporting rebels in Kashmir that were responsible for the attacks. It's going to get messy. I don't think they will be stupid enough to go to war though. There's just too many lives at stake. India is the second most populated country in the world next to China with over a billion people. Pakistan has a kick-ass army thanks to China as their military beneficiary. Russia has given India most of their weaponery.

In the Middle East, much suffering is still going on. There is currently an endless cycle of violence occurring there. Muslim countries around the world are getting fed up with Sharon and Israel. If this level of conflict continues there will again be pressure by Muslim and many other nations to contain Israel. The U.S. is a strong ally of Israel. In many respects to the U.N. they are one only few supporters of Israel of the over 200 countries. This doesn't matter much however because the U.S. has a permanent seat on the U.N. and is the only world superpower currently. In the coming decades, China and possibly the EU will also become superpowers. The U.S. coaltion is NOT at stake, however as practically every country in the world is supporting the war on Terror right now. This could all change if we attack Iraq sometime later this winter or spring. Hopefully this will NOT happen. War will only cause more suffering and chaos in Iraq. I have to admit tho that Saddam Hussein is a bastard, and I'd love to see him taken out of power, but not through war. Diplomatic negotiations are the most sane approach. Most countries around the world do NOT support any U.S. attack on Iraq. Millions of people have already suffered from Embargos which I believe were just. It's just that Saddam Hussein is a greedy corrupt individual.

There still are 10s of other conflicts going on too. Argentina's goverment collapsed this week. Several countries in Africa are at war as they always are. Countries in Indonesia are on the brink of Political collapse. It's ugly. There are also positive notes. The EURO begins official public circulation on January 1st. The U.S. has become united after the September 11th attacks. Russia and the U.S. have made AMAZING strides at forming a stronger relationship since pre WWII days. That is an awesome growing bond. Lastly, China was accepted into the World Trade Organization (WTO). This will help ou the Asian economy DRAMATICALLY in the medium and long range. It will help out the Western economies in the short-med-and long ranges.

I have never been so involved with reading the news and keeping up to date with current events since September 11th. Maybe it's because of Sep. 11, maybe its the paranoid part of my personality, maybe it's just my age, or a combo of them all. Either way it is exciting to keep informed. I feel very confident when having conversations with strangers or friends about politics and current events. The past two week I worked with a woman who was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. It's guaranteed that if you turn on CNN or FNC you will hear a reference to Kabul within minutes. The life she grew up in was SOOOO much different than that in the U.S. She became accustomed to war as it was always going on in her country. Nazir's father was a wealthy businessman and therefore a target of rebel enemies(sounds like Star Wars). Anyway, one day after having pet her dog 30 seconds prior, a missle streaked through her house only feet from Nazir. The missle crashed through walls and landed right on top of her dog and blew it up. This was the scariest moment of her life and led her to the decision that USA was the place to ESCAPE too. It took her many years of struggle within the U.S. before herself and her husband made a better living for themselves. Today, Nasir is so thankful to live in the U.S. The freedom for people in this country is nothing like what she had at home. Just take a look on the TV and you'll see how different it is. When I hear stories like Nasir's of immigrants who have escaped their countries harsh laws on the people's freedoms, and discovered a country with the greatest opportunities in the world it makes me realize how fortunate I am to have been born here. Looking around now and thinking of my life, I represent only the 1% of the world's population. I never have had to worry about food, expressing my opinion, what I wear, and practicing my religion. We took many of these freedoms for granted prior to the 9/11 barbaric attacks. From the bad, good has come. Americans and free countries around the world now realize how IMPORTANT freedom is. EVERYONE should have freedom. That is just a naive dream, however that's the way it should eventually be...check back later for more comments...8^)...Evmeister

...Ev
Evan Lowery