Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

In a few hours I get the good or bad news about that drive. Until then I have a lot to drink*.

Since most people don't really know the history of how and why the US got itself involved in WWI, I thought it would be worth linking to this article on the subject. As you probably know, America came in after the Germans sunk the British passenger ship Lusitania, which was enough to break the US's neutrality.

As always, and as it still is today, the people of America didn't want war, but because they were good but uninformed people, hearing that civilians were being attacked by a warlike country got them engaged and millions of good Americans died in the war and subsequent ones doing what they thought was right.

But what the government didn't tell them is that the Lustiana was being used to secretly shuttle US-produced ammunition from Bethlehem Steel (the Haliburton of WWI) to Britain, using civilian passengers as a “shield” — note that this was a corporate action, not a government one (the government decried it, but even back then, corporations held more power than politicians). Not only that, but this was after they'd done a study to find out whether doing this would trick the public into backing war if the Germans attacked a passenger ship.

The rest is history, and Charles Schwab (owner of Bethlehem Steel) and his fellow warmongers went on to become the richest men in America (albeit some were felled by the depression). Given that WWI begat WWII which begat the Cold War, American corporate profiteering becomes a very bloody thing — and if you really want to upset yourself, start researching exactly what started the war and exactly what involvement American corporations had. If you really want to upset yourself even more, take a look at who these corporations have consistently sold military technology to — both sides. Haliburton as well sells to “the enemy” and doesn't hide it.

David Kay (Bush's WMD guy) has now said that nearly all WMD claims made by the US are wrong. Not only does US intelligence imagine WMDs in countries that they don't exist, but they've totally missed active manufacturing and distribution programs in other nations. Again look at who's walking away the winner (the corporation) and who's walking away the loser (the American people)… This has to end.

Finally, let me mention this tear-jerker: Girl salutes daddy killed in Iraq. Just brings back little JFK Jr. memories, doesn't it? But if you'd like to get especially sad, read how he died: another soldier tripped and shot him by accident.

Guess what that means?

The widow and family will probably be inelligible for full veterens benefits, since he didn't die in combat, it was just an unrelated accident….