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I. Introduction
The first post of this
Dredd Blog series --a discussion of
Occupy Egypt --took place in January of 2011 (
Viva Egypt).
Since then the dictator and puppet of
MOMCOM,
Hosni Mubarak, was dethroned and sentenced to prison.
Following the Egyptian Military's real or feigned alignment with the people, national elections were set forth as a remedy then eventually held, and the protests and anger subsided in Egypt.
Eventually
a new Muslim president of Egypt (
Mohammed Morsi) was put on stage by national elections, ostensibly to bring forth a government with an orientation toward the common good of the people (
The Common Good).
The new president seems to have quickly become oppressive, so that short Egyptian moderate period of relative quiet has now gone by the wayside.
Millions of demonstrators have filled the streets of Egypt once again, demanding among other things, a new president (
Guardian,
BBC).
Everyone is now waiting to see if the Egyptian military will side with the people this time, or instead will attempt a brutal repression, as DHS did with the
Occupy Movement here in the U.S. (
The Empire Strikes Back - 6).
II. The Birth of Oil-Qaeda
The basis of current Middle Eastern displeasure, frustration, and foment has its roots in the embryonic formation and later birth of
Oil-Qaeda (
Oil-Qaeda: The Indictment,
Oil-Qaeda: The Deadliest Parasite Of Civilization).
A birth conceived in the minds of
Western Leaders, just after the turn of the 19th Century into the 20th Century, when
leaders failed to see the long run big picture of Western Civilization
becoming bound to that region (
The Peak of Sanity - 3,
A History of Oil Addiction - 4).
III. The Middle East Addiction
The West became bound to that region because of an unintended, unforeseen, deadly addiction that was motivated in part by a religious tenet of Western Religion, which, as will be seen just below, was a belief in
"the Battle of Armageddon."
The "
opiate of the people" helped lead to a deadly
addiction of civilization to fossil fuels.
That addiction eventuality emerged from that era's decision
to commit to fossil fuel petroleum in place of the fossil fuel
coal:
Long before politicians mewled helplessly about the power of “Big Oil”, carbon-based fuels were shaping our very political, legal, intellectual, and physical structures.
...
For instance, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a pivotal moment in America’s strategic outlook. America, a global hegemon whose empire was weakening, seized the second largest oil deposits in the world as a way of preventing its economic and political decline.
...
The last declining global hegemon, Great Britain, also engaged in a brutal and highly controversial British occupation of Iraq, in the 1920s, pressed aggressively by the well-known British conservative, Winston Churchill.
...
From the moment he arrived at the Admiralty, a young man of destiny, Churchill started to prepare the fleet for the Battle of Armageddon he believed was inevitable.
...
Then, in 1911, the German Kaiser provoked the Agadir crisis ... Churchill went to the Admiralty and his outlook transformed. He was immediately confronted with the decisive question: to convert the navy from coal to oil ... the "fateful plunge" was made ... in April 1912 ... five oil-burning battleships were approved.
...
It was the Royal Navy which was the impetus for the development of the oil industry in Britain. The problem was supply and the security of that supply. Initially, the British government purchased shares in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, subsequently, British Petroleum [BP].
...
Then, to prevent further disruptions, Britain enmeshed itself ever more deeply in the Middle East, working to install new shahs in Iran and carve Iraq out of the collapsing Ottoman Empire.
Churchill fired the starting gun, but all of the Western powers joined the race to control Middle Eastern oil.
(
The Universal Smedley - 2, emphasis added). Thus began the new
Age of Petroleum Man, an age of resource wars, fueled intellectually with a toxic mix of religion:
The enemy aggressor is always pursuing a course of larceny, murder, rapine and barbarism. We are always moving forward with high mission, a destiny imposed by the Deity to regenerate our victims, while incidentally capturing their markets; to civilise savage and senile and paranoid peoples, while blundering accidentally into their oil wells.
(
The Peak Of The Oil Wars - 7, quoting 1944 book). That age has now reached its peak or plateau,
a time of anxiety as the drug becomes more and more difficult to find and produce.
IV. The Drug Is Finite
Now, as we begin to head down the backside slope into the valley of post petroleum man, MOMCOM offers rank propaganda (
The Peak of The Oil Lies - 6).
But if all is so well, why is MOMCOM watching and spying on every citizen carefully (
The Fog of Spying In The Fog of War)?
And if all is so well, why is MOMCOM talking about austerity (
Why Is The Government Conditioning Us To Austerity?)?
All is so well that MOMCOM is also preparing for a time when millions of Americans take to the streets like the Egyptians have:
A new report by the U.S. Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest, such as protests against businesses and government or runs on beleaguered banks.
“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” said the War College report.
The study says economic collapse, terrorism and loss of legal order are among possible domestic shocks that might require military action within the U.S.
(
On The Origin of Security - 3). A cruise of the Internet via Google, Yahoo, or Bing, searching for "industrial complex" comes up with "military industrial complex" (a half-century old description), "prison-industrial complex", "corporate industrial complex", "intelligence industrial complex", and a host of others.
But no "oil" is generally included in those complex concepts.
Why are people
conditioned to become unaware of the utter and complete complex addiction to oil?
V. Western Civilization Made Itself Out Of Finite Resources
Regular readers know that
Dredd Blog has consistently tried to
share an awareness of the fact that
Western Civilization is made out of oil:
We can reveal some of what the MOMCOM empire is feeding the citizenry, what is in the bottle, and what is not:
Twinkies and their rocky ingredients were the subject of a 2007 book by Steve Ettlinger called “Twinkie, Deconstructed.” For research, Ettlinger interviewed bakers and even traveled below the Earth to see where Twinkie ingredients were mined. The dessert cakes contain sorbic acid, which is derived from natural gas. Some ingredients were found to come from the oil fields of China. Others came from phosphate mines in Idaho. So-called vitamins in the dessert come from petroleum.
(Twinkies, emphasis added). Believe it or not, there is Twinkie material around, over, under, beside, and in us, as shown by a partial list of 6000 things made with "the blood of MOMCOM", hydrocarbons (oil):
Solvents, Diesel fuel, Motor Oil, Bearing Grease, Ink, Floor Wax, Ballpoint Pens, Football Cleats, Upholstery, Sweaters, Boats, Insecticides, Bicycle Tires, Sports Car Bodies, Nail Polish, Fishing lures, Dresses, Tires, Golf Bags, Perfumes, Cassettes, Dishwasher parts, Tool Boxes, Shoe Polish, Motorcycle Helmet, Caulking, Petroleum Jelly, Transparent Tape, CD Player, Faucet Washers, Antiseptics, Clothesline, Curtains, Food Preservatives, Basketballs, Soap, Vitamin Capsules, Antihistamines, Purses, Shoes, Dashboards, Cortisone, Deodorant,
Footballs, Putty, Dyes, Panty Hose, Refrigerant, Percolators, Life Jackets, Rubbing Alcohol, Linings, Skis, TV Cabinets, Shag Rugs, Electrician's Tape, Tool Racks, Car Battery Cases, Epoxy, Paint, Mops, Slacks, Insect Repellent, Oil Filters, Umbrellas, Yarn, Fertilizers, Hair Coloring, Roofing, Toilet Seats, Fishing Rods, Lipstick, Denture Adhesive, Linoleum, Ice Cube Trays, Synthetic Rubber, Speakers, Plastic Wood, Electric Blankets, Glycerin, Tennis Rackets, Rubber Cement, Fishing Boots, Dice, Nylon Rope, Candles, Trash Bags, House Paint, Water Pipes, Hand Lotion, Roller Skates, Surf Boards, Shampoo, Wheels, Paint Rollers, Shower Curtains, Guitar Strings, Luggage, Aspirin, Safety Glasses, Antifreeze, Football Helmets, Awnings, Eyeglasses, Clothes, Toothbrushes, Ice Chests, Footballs, Combs, CD's & DVD's, Paint Brushes, Detergents, Vaporizers, Balloons, Sun Glasses, Tents, Heart Valves, Crayons, Parachutes, Telephones, Enamel, Pillows, Dishes, Cameras, Anesthetics, Artificial Turf, Artificial limbs, Bandages, Dentures, Model Cars, Folding Doors, Hair Curlers, Cold cream, Movie film, Soft Contact lenses, Drinking Cups, Fan Belts, Car Enamel, Shaving Cream, Ammonia, Refrigerators, Golf Balls, Toothpaste, Gasoline
(Products From Petroleum, emphasis added). Highlighted items are things you put in you or on you, but a close look at the items that are not highlighted will tell you MOMCOM is quite "next to you".
The "toothpaste" caught my eye, because it is the symbolic item used by some scholars & educators to point out to you that even government is handled and constructed like a Twinkie:
One of the most important comments on deceit, I think, was made by Adam Smith. He pointed out that a major goal of business is to deceive and oppress the public.
And one of the striking features of the modern period is the institutionalization of that process, so that we now have huge industries deceiving the public — and they're very conscious about it, the public relations industry. Interestingly, this developed in the freest countries—in Britain and the US—roughly around time of 
WWI, when it was recognized that enough freedom had been won that people could no longer be controlled by force. So modes of deception and manipulation had to be developed in order to keep them under control.
And by now these are huge industries. They not only dominate marketing of commodities, but they also control the political system. As anyone who watches a US election knows, it's marketing. It's the same techniques that are used to market toothpaste.
(Noam Chomsky, emphasis added). This election cycle MOMCOM has been busy "selling the toothpaste" and lots of politicians have been using the Twinkie defense, the Twinkie Offense, and the Twinkie induced self deception.
It is enough to drive a civilization nuts.
(
A Closer Look At MOMCOM's DNA - 2). A hundred years of tragic history based on war addictions now brings us to the brink of another catastrophe.
VI. The Drug is Deadly
That catastrophe is another "unintended consequence" of a lack of vision in Western leaders:
More than 100 million people will die ... by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.
...
It calculated that five million deaths occur each year from air pollution, hunger and disease as a result of climate change and carbon-intensive economies, and that toll would likely rise to six million a year by 2030 if current patterns of fossil fuel use continue.
...
"A combined climate-carbon crisis is estimated to claim 100 million lives between now and the end of the next decade," the report said.
(
Barack Hansen Replaces Barack Bush?). We can wonder if we will have the strength to shake this century-long policy of our
Wartocracy.
VII. Denial Is Not A Survivable Replacement For Policy
And one can wonder if America will become like
Cypher, fading into a self-induced oblivion:
In closing today's post, I suggest that we try to remember the character Cypher in The Matrix movie.
He was an individual who got tired of fighting the matrix, then sold out those who had awakened and become free of the matrix; and who were trying to free others.
Then notice these words in the lyrics of a song we recently took note of: "I'd love to change the world, But I don't know what to do, So I'll leave it up to you" (Glory Daze - 2). How similar is that to the traitor concept in the matrix exemplified by Cypher, the guy who snitched out his own so that the agents of artificial intelligence would then revert him back into the unconscious illusion of the matrix?
Yes, one has to wonder about the old saying concerning "science fiction" as applied to The Matrix -- there is sometimes more truth than fiction in it.
(
The Matriarch of the Matrix - 3). Continue to urge your representatives in congress to follow a Naval Fuel Policy (
Navy's Successful Demonstration of Domestic Biofuel) that reverses the mistakes of Churchill a hundred years ago (
Section III above).
The next post in this series is
here, the previous post in this series is
here.
Keep focused on Oil-Qaeda, because that
Terrarist organization is at the heart of the meaning of the
Rolling Stones song lyrics "
what's puzzling you is the nature of my game."
Sympathy For The Devil - Rolling Stones
