On recent events... The U.S. has had the U.N. agree to lift sanctions on Iraq, and put the U.S. in charge of the oilfields. I've been thinking -- apart from in communal societies, somebody's going to end up owning the oil. I wonder what difference it'd make, some Iraqi owner or some American owner.. except .. maybe the Iraqi state managed it before. Hmm. I'm really just mumbling out loud here.

It seems that a lot of my liberal friends, from SFF or not, are socialist. However, the term has become a dirty word in America, for far longer than liberal has been one. Anyhow, they might be able to argue that oil rights are an especially good example of when property rights are arbitrary. I think that people are definitely entitled to rise above the masses on their own effort. As for if they can bring their descendants with them, and how easy that should be, I think it can be pretty messy.

Sharon has accepted, with some reservations, the U.S. peace plan for Israel/Palestine, and is going to be doing political wrangling with the Knesset. More interesting, perhaps, is what Abbas has to do -- bring the Palestinians under control. The Palestinians are still under that old dilemma -- IMO, they SHOULD keep attacking the settlers, or at least the adults there, as they're knowingly attempting to steal more land.. so long as they're thinking that peace isn't going to come in the short run. If the Israelis are serious about peace, and they have no idea how to tell (given the fluid nature of politics, I doubt the Israelis could know either), then it would probably be best to go for peace, with the expectations of the settlers being carted off to prison, or at least off Palestinian land. Of course, Israeli society is divided over the settlers. I wish they would solidify on the position that they've made their own bed, that they should lie in it, and that it should be no concern of the government if they were all shoved out of the territories, or indeed just killed, for what they're doing, by the Palestinians. Given that, the Palestinians could get a bit of what they want, the Hebrews could say "Not my concern", and hopefully Hamas can be deflated a little bit. In the end, building towards peace is what needs to be the goal, not historical Palestine nor a homeland where Hebrews get special consideration. While Iraq MAY have been a poison of the body of world peace, Israel/Palestine is DEFINITELY a poison of the mind of world peace. It would have better if the land had just been cleared of people and nuked into a glowing crater decades ago, with a "New Israel" placed elsewhere, but the next best thing is to do whatever needs to happen to calm this plate boundary between central Eurasia and the west. Die, Zionism. Die, Palestinian nationalism. Peace, at any cost.

Late at night on TV, I heard a debate about foreign policy while I was programming. One person asked "Why do you care about Israel/Palestine so much? Do you care about $SITUATION_Y?" Answer: Yes. It's just that Israel/Palestine gets so much coverage, and it's so very interesting, that $SITUATION_Y, for whatever value that has, generally is going to be less interesting. There are currently 5 conflicts that really hold my interest in world politics right now:

• Israel/Palestine issues, as it juxtaposes issues of religion, incredibly powerful racism on both sides, and war that fuels tons of conflict elsewhere
• China/Taiwan issues, as it's about interesting issues of sovereignty, global politics, and economy. China would flatten Taiwan with nukes if it could get away with it, I think. Taiwanese politics dance around this fact, with politicians varying widely on how provocative to be towards China, and whether independence should be declared
• India/Pakistan issues - Islam versus Hinduism, terrorism and provocation.
• The Kurds vs the World - In some ways, the Kurds are where the Jews were for a long time. It's even more interesting though, as the Kurds are Muslim, just like their opponents, so it's a struggle for ethnic identity and race within Islam.
• Ulster and Ireland - Nationalism versus ethnic identity, with some religion tossed in.

All of those admit no easy solution. Israel/Palestine just happens to get the most news coverage around here, and probably has the biggest world ramifications. Although it's not as international, Irani politics are also interesting.

Impromptu poetry can be fun. Here's something I came up with, prompted by a friend on AIM:

(cue guitar)
Let me write you a story, a tale for them all
a song o' my heart condition that makes me fall
though the pain it does cause me is fleeting and small
if I need it I use my pills atenolol

All because he wanted me to find a way to rhyme with atenolol, and then to incorporate that into stanza. Heh.

Anyhow, let's end this with more lyrics snippets. Psychopharmacology, by Firewater.

The endless shrink parade
The nights that never cease
And all you want is peace
But all you get is pills
And still they tell you

Psychopharmacology is gonna set you straight
When you can`t get out of bed and you`re so tired of pretending
Psychopharmacology is gonna save your soul
Cause God is great and God is good but he`s also made of wood
Believe in psychopharmacology

Oddly, there's only one place I could find the lyrics to that song on the net, and they were incorrect there. Niiiice.

I doubt I'll actually going to cowtown this weekend -- my friend Jeff will be out of town, and Dawon hasn't called me back. I was really hoping to see everyone, or nearly everyone. Maybe next weekend. How will I fill today? More website work, more packing, and probably a trip to a museum or a park, and then to a coffeeshop or bookstore.

I'm worried that one of my friends who I've been chatting with online recently might be starting a slide towards mental illness. :(