Peace in the Middle East

The current situation in the Middle East is caused by numerous factors which make war almost inevitable without serious changes in the reality of the region.

1. The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, driven partially by religion with both countries supporting terrorist groups abroad. (sources)
2. Rivalry between the United States and Russia supporting and opposing governments in the region. The United States is allied with Saudi Arabia and Israel, and Russia is allied with Iran.
3. There is very little trade between Sunni and Shiite states, making war far more likely.
4. Colonialism created boundaries which do not take into account the ethnic and religious diversity of the region. Iraq, Yemen, and Syria are the most seriously harmed by this policy. They are multi-ethnic states (which can sometimes work) but lack the institutions to govern a diverse people effectively. Turkey used to be a major player in the region and they were able to keep the Kurdish regions, historically harming the Kurds creating rebel groups which were supported by Russia.

We see today the invasion of Syria by the United States, a historic moment where we have transitioned from supplying the rebels to actively bombing ISIS. ISIS is a terrorist organization which needs to be eliminated, but terrorism in the middle east will continue until we target the causes of terrorism. The root of this is the Sunni-Shiite divide. The majority of attacks by terrorist groups are done in more multi-ethnic states and non-Muslim states. You do not find many attacks in Riyadh or Tehran. Partially this has to do with the stability of those regions, causing fewer potential recruits and also because Al Qaeda has its historic roots in Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah has support from Iran. All of this combined means they are far safer. Oman which is neither Sunni nor Shiite also has almost no terrorist attacks, being Ibadi, another branch of Islam. They maintain good relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia. This, combined with their wealth, helps explain why terrorist attacks in Oman are rare.

If we want to fix the mess in Syria we will need to start by having Saudi Arabia and Iran talk with one another and have better relations. Trade between the two countries and cooperation for a more prosperous Middle East will quickly reduce the terrorism the countries finance bringing stability to the region. Countries increasing their trade and improving relations with both regional powers will also help those individual countries avoid future conflict. There are definitely other factors but I believe these two will make the largest effect.

My heart aches for Syria and I wish that the people had the government they deserve.

Project Timelines Series, Part II: Syria Border Wall

I wrote in June about how to fix the problems with long timelines and cost overruns (usually at the same time) which plague developed countries like the United States and Germany. Politicians in these countries tend to blame all sorts of factors on why they are unable to develop their countries in a reasonable time frame, but they don't put in reasonable safeguards to get projects done in a timely manner.

Today Deutsche Welle reported that Syria is building a border wall with Turkey, which is a distance of 822 km. This is longer than the drive from Hamburg to Munich, which is 777 km. They also expect they will finish building this wall next year.

There is no reason that GDP building projects like high-speed rail, airports, and light rail can't be done at a similar time frame. Germany and the United States were once willing to do these grand projects at a timeline similar to what Syria is currently embarking on, or what China did over the last decade with their new high speed rail system. The politics and economics of today are not fundamentally different from that of 50 years ago when grand infrastructure projects were the norm in modern countries. The building of highways around Europe is yet another modern example of this.

The issue is not the ability to do amazing things but the political will and the willingness to do what is needed. The US has a GDP per capita 5 times the size of Turkey. We are far richer, far larger, and have far more resources available. American and German politicians need to stop making excuses, hold contractors accountable, and do their jobs to revitalize and modernize our infrastructure now. Shame on the Seattle City Council, shame on Congress, shame on der Bundestag, shame on der Abgeordnetenhaus, and shame on der Landtag Brandenburg. It is time for people across the world to expect as much out of today's politicians as we got out of government 50 years ago, with massive infrastructure, human rights legislation, and compassion. We can do this, but only if we make it so.

Media and Refugees

I read an article from Der Spiegel today which claimed Angela Merkel has gambled away her power with her compassion for refugees. (They do not deserve a link) Only compassionate policies receive this type of hatred from the press and calls for referenda. I never heard people call for a referendum when the US invaded Iraq, when Southern Europe was devastated by austerity (which performed exactly as all economic theory predicts), or to push anti-gay laws in Eastern Europe onto the ballot. Only policies which try to make the world a better place get such attention. The way the media talks about such issues makes it sound like refugees from Syria in Europe or Mexico in the USA are causing all of our problems, when any accurate analysis proves that this is not true, and in fact a majority of Germans approve of these actions. 40% is a majority according to the media when the policy which has 60% approval makes the world a better place.

Europe has the resources to help the refugees from the Middle East, and frankly Europe owes it to the Middle East after standing idly by as religious extremists have destroyed Middle Eastern Culture in the Arab states after colonizing the world, particularly Britain. Germany didn't have colonies in the region, but Germany has the resources (and need for labor) to help people from the Middle East. If we show compassion towards those whose homes have been destroyed we could build a better world where all people see our common heritage as humankind to build a more peaceful world. Instead of punishing 4 year old girls whose homes have been bombed out by Wahabbi extremists and teach them to never trust the West (a lesson which fascists have taught them far too many times) by sending them back to the meat grinder we should show them compassion and give them a sense that we are good people and grow trust between our lands. This will reduce the threat of terrorism across the world for mutual benefit. If we choose instead to send them back to the meat grinder of Syria and continue invasions of their homelands what little trust and respect there is between our peoples will be eroded even further, and we will continue to see repetitions of the Crusades of the Middle Ages.

The media needs to stop making it sound like 10 year old boys are trying to kill everybody, and be more accurate in their reporting. We are seeing the media manufacture consent over this issue, and it is killing innocent people every day. The same media which makes it sound like 10 year olds are going to bomb the Kölnerdom then turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia's abuse of women, the genocide in Darfur, Apartheid, the chaos in Israel/Palestine, and actual real problems which create the animosity and hatred which destroyed the Twin Towers, Pentagon and almost destroyed the Capital Building. I believe they want liberalism to fail.

There is a better path than this. It isn't hard if you try.

Deutsche Welle

Europe's refugees

The current crisis in the middle east, while toppling dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, and getting women the right to vote in local elections in Saudi Arabia (bringing the total number of countries where women can't vote to 0) has also created the war in Syria. Combined with the destabilizing of Iraq which was caused by the United States invasion the emergence of ISIS was almost inevitable. Looking further back the entire situation in the Middle East was created by the carving of international borders is a consequence of colonialism which was done by Europe particularly the United Kingdom. The only fair response to the current crisis in Syria given the United Kingdom's role and the carving of artificial boundary lines is to bring in refugees and help create the stability and peace in the Middle East with respect and for human rights and science. Europe has an obligation given their colonial history and their support of dictators since then to help rebuild the Middle East. While it is true that the current leaders in Europe today we're not themselves individually responsible for what occurred a hundred years ago what is happening now as a consequence of their national action and I believe it would be the right thing for European countries to work on peace building in the region and make it so human rights are respected. Even if we hold that individuals are not responsible for their ancestors actions but for their own alone Europe has the resources and the wealth to help people in the Middle East and it is the moral action if you see someone needing help you help then there is no exception to this principle in my opinion given Europe's moral fiber and given that nobody else except the United States, Canada, and probably Japan as well have the resources to make a significant impact in the Middle East it is only the right thing to help bring peace to the Middle East and support refugees. Canada in particular is a very interesting situation Stephen Harper has made it so, this reduces rolling peacekeeping around the world significantly this action is completely unethical and contrary to all the values that make him Canada a very special country. United States being the richest country in the world tied with China, makes it so that the United States has would suffer almost no cost relative to the size of our overall economy to help people in the Middle East. Such the porch would be seems like bringing in advisors and helping to draft good constitutions with the big with the cooperation of intellectuals in these countries, building up the systems of education healthcare which these countries currently black, and helping to build a framework for liberty and human rights is in the form of a bill of rights to be respected by the government to make it to all people are respected.

The current situation with the refugees in Europe shows this underline conflict which is buried deep inside the Europeans conscience. It is surprising that Angela Merkel turns out to be the one who has been one of the most liberal members of the European Council on this issue but I am glad none the less even though her policy with Southern Europe has been far from diplomatic, reasonable, or fair.

Current steps to undo the damage which has been done by ISIS would be supporting the building of refugee camps, unfortunately some military action is necessary, as well as helping to build a democratic framework, along with the quality of government. There has to be rule of law as opposed to rule of man which will protect the freedom of these people if they have an election where the right wing win for one or two election cycles. The biggest hurdle in doing this is of course Russia which supports us on but I believe that given time we can achieve this goal of helping freedom grow in Syria.

While foreign countries can help, at the end of the day is up to the people of the Middle East to secure their face this is what we saw with the Arab Spring. For the first time in hundreds of years we are seeing the people of the Middle East call for a better system for themselves. Hopefully this is going to lead to a system which will see in the emergence of of Science in Middle East there is some science being done currently, but the quantity is nothing compared to where they should be given their history. With better education for all and governments respecting the freedom of speech which is necessary for our society to prosper this is going to hopefully lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and into a better life.

Obama puts Constitution ahead of National Security, confusion reigns (satire)

Following his continued changing of fundamental American values, President Obama has substantially weakened the Presidency by turning to Congress before unilaterally going to war.

See here, I studied law for eight years, and taught Constitutional Law, I don't have the right to go to war unilaterally and need to follow the law. I need to have permission from our allies according to our treaty forming the United Nations or permission from Congress specifically outlining who to target.
~Barack Obama, Kenyan nationalist

This announcement has been unpopular among the people, as we have heard from several people across the country:

I don't know what these Kenyans are up to, but I'll be dead if we are going to wait for the Canadians to attack us before we use our military. Where are the good old days when we invaded sovereign nations on hunches of those ragged Canadian commies?
~Joe Bob, West Virginia, miner, 8th grade education

It's clearly due to his being black, hence Unamerican. My ancestors once owned people like him the dirty half-breed. He even wants to let more brown people in the country. He has sympathies for the brown Syrians.
~Simpson Wallace, Alabama, unemployed, high school dropout

Other people are clearly anti-American:

I think the President is right by going to Congress before entering into a foreign war. The 1st article is very clear that Congress has the power to declare war, and the President is following this. It would require a Constitutional amendment to give the President that power, and Obama is making one of the best decisions of his presidency so far with this.
~Abdullah al-al-siristan, PhD from the Socialist Republic of Columbia University, Constitutional scholar and immigrant

A world-famous pundit quipped:

Obama is breaking a sixty-five year tradition of ignoring Congress, and is confusing Americans. He is destroying the institution of the Presidency, and with it, the United States, by giving Congress 18th century powers. With such a system, it would be a miracle if anything got done. This will make it impossible for America to respond to things like rebellion in the future.

With all of these equally qualified points of view, does Obama have a leg to stand on? Rednecks and trolls, your opinions please.

(The previous is a parody on the onion I wrote when Obama decided to go to Congress and the absurd responses from the right-wing on that action.)