Podcast 320

The Islamic State Threat. What should the United States do about the Islamic State? As attacks, beheadings and burnings become more extreme, the west’s response seems muddled. The public discussion of the issue is emotional and often devoid of facts, lately centering on whether the Islamic State is payback for the Crusades. Last summer President Obama initiated airstrikes on the Islamic State; a group he had referred to as the ‘JV Team’ of terrorists, a remark which will go down as one of the greater mistakes of his administration. Later he called for airstrikes, promising ‘no boots on the ground’, now he is asking Congress for a new force authorization which may or may not give Obama – or the next president – authority to send troops into the region to fight the Islamic State. As the group expands into Libya, Yemen and threatens Europe, it’s time for ordinary Americans to start thinking about what the country’s response should be. Yes, this will be an election issue in 2016 because the threat will get worse before it gets better. Has anyone told you how the Islamic State differs from Al Qaeda? What are the theological underpinnings of the group and how does its theology appeal to Sunni Tribes in the region? Is this a religious conflict, or tribal? What is Iran’s role in the fight? These aren’t questions for foreign policy experts, but for ordinary Americans who are going to be voting for presidential candidates, as the 2016 race begins in less than one year. Do you know what you need to know? Or, are you ok with going into another conflict, where service men and women are going to die, without asking the important questions; Why? What are the stakes? What is the foreign policy of the United States. What should it be? How do we conduct ourselves in the world? What interests are we willing to use deadly force to protect? How might we have caused this conflict. How do we avoid this happening in the future? What have we learned as a people about these kinds of struggles, since the US first invaded Iraq in 2003. Has our Afghanistan experience taught us anything? You can listen to people scream and yell at each other on cable TV news and talk radio, or we can get down to business and discuss as many parameters of the issue as possible (Editor’s Note: Or at least the parameters I have been able to research so far). The Islamic State is a gathering storm. The current state of affairs in the Middle East is becoming a dangerous threat to the region and Europe directly, maybe the United States directly. The old World War 2 and Cold War foreign policy paradigms won’t work. Those who are ignorant of at least the broad contours of the situation are more easily manipulated in the political process. Take some time and get a little more balanced view of the situation. Sponsored by Depot Star. 

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Podcast 227

Eclipse Radio. The three main takeaways from the news so far this week, hours before the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on October 8th, 2014. The Blood Moon. Speaking of…While the pencil necked bureaucrats at the CDC say, “Nothing to see here folks!”, other medical scientists and researchers are not so quick to be cowed. Experts are worried – that is the word they use – the Ebola virus may spread more easily than the government assumes. The word is, there isn’t enough data to conclusively rule out the possibility the virus is only transmitted through contact with secreted substances from an infected person. There is also not enough data to conclusively determine how fast the virus can mutate, or whether the mutations would result in a less dangerous, or much more dangerous virus. People should also take note of the Enterovirus D-68 ‘Paralysis’ story, because the reporting on this one is terrible. We would like to know where these people are from, whether they have been vaccinated for Polio, and if they have come to this country recently. Meanwhile coverage of the the vacuous shout-fest between Ben Affleck and Bill Maher has apparently occupied the attention of every major commentator, despite the fact that a US Ally and NATO member Turkey, has abandoned The Kurdish people. As a result a massacre – at the very least – is in the wind as ISIS is about to take, or has taken the Kurdish town of Kobani, full of refugees from the Syrian Conflict. Oh by the way, those air-strikes? Didn’t work. On the election 2014 front, suddenly the political ‘Money Ballers’ are hedging their bets. The American people are really mad, though. Don’t know if we’ll vote, or who we’ll vote for, but the media knows for sure we’re mad. Finally some thoughts about the eclipse, superstition, how to deal with the Orwellian media reality in America today, and the coming of a new era. (Editors Note: It can’t get here fast enough for me!) Sponsored by Sedation and Implant Dentistry of Saint Paul and by Depot Star. 

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Podcast 218

It’s complicated. Why are ‘simple’ solutions advocated for complicated problems, and what happens when those ‘simple’ solutions don’t work? With airstrikes beginning against ISIS, apparently many in the US expect ISIS to be ‘destroyed’. Really? Fact is, things are hardly as simple as the commentariat would have us believe. Every crisis contains layers of political, diplomatic, military, corporate, social and other special interests that have to be considered. Then there is the corporate and independent media, and social media. ‘On The Ground’, inside any breaking story, are other, similar layers to be considered by policy makers. Demanding the simple solution plays well on the shout-fests that pass for ‘news’ these days, but seldom play in the real world; One of the reasons we are underwhelmed when things go wrong. People seem to think there was a time when things were easily resolved. Was there? The American Civil War? Prohibition? World War II? The Cold War? When was it ever easy or simple? We’re still getting used to the new complexities of a multi polar – chaotic – world, made more confusing by many new technical innovations with increasingly positive and negative effects. While there are simple solutions to problems every now and then, one has to understand the details to sell those ‘simple’ solutions and selling it can be complicated. History always seems easier when it is written than when it actually plays out. Today, people demand solutions, but they don’t want to know the details. Is this a willful ignorance? A willful refusal to participate or learn? Is it ‘the media’s fault’? Or, is it our fault? Either we pitch in and become informed, or we accept what our elected leaders do. We expect flawless performance from our technology and our leaders and are shocked when it fails. We might be living through a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change our government to be more responsive to individuals, but we’re not going to do it through ignorance and apathy. Sponsored by Autonomous Cad. 

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