War - what is good for?

Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Absolutely nothing.
US Military Industrial Complex: Some trillion dollars since 911.
Social Darwinists: Prevention of overpopulation.

In modern times, let's say in the last 3000 years or so, war served business purposes. On a macro-economic scale, however, war just wastes valuable resources and yields hardly more luxury than agricultural ways of living. But the inventiveness of mankind increased the usefulness of the limited resources available, so that the average wealth increased, and thus made wars ever more profitable.

Predatory animals need a relatively high level of aggressiveness just to pursue a living, and this evolutionary successful instinct exists in human beings as well. A small number of highly aggressive people can subordinate a large number of others to make their own life more resourceful, the Aryan Brotherhood poses an interesting example in our time.

Although we lack evidence of war in prehistoric times, it unlikely looked like heaven, all peaceful and good. In a hunter and gatherer society other groups of humans could have easily been considered as prey, and cannibalistic tribes have survived until the last two centuries (or even until today). Scarcity of resources might lead to "wars" as well, killing another tribe for survival.

Interspecies aggression happens a lot, among sea anemones, ants, monkeys and humans. Yet, if we understand evolution, we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Aggression, the innate animal survival strategy, and war, its commercial brother, belong to the memes of life. But if consciousness distinguishes humans from other animals, we can transcend this animalistic past by conscious control.

If we see our planet as finite economic system, warfare loses all justification. It destroys valuable resources, concentrates wealths in the hands of few, and generally prevents a more equitable distribution of the planet's resources.

Nowadays, the major information distribution outlets have very strong ties to the military industrial complex, and glorifies past and present war efforts. The mainstream media encourages a local perspective (better us then them) and neglects the global insanity of war, and especially who makes most money out of it.

Instead we read about ideological or religious differences that caused wars. Have you never wondered why you hear rarely about the costs of war? You can see a lot of heroes, sometimes victims, hear stories with little evidence. War allows our capitalistic world a break from the dreadful money to destroy our empathy with permanent pictures of human madness.

Lethal intergroup competition such as wars have most likely their place throughout human history, but without cooperation no bounty could have ever been scored. Civilized societies transformed this instinct into sports, a vicarious fight without lethal victims. Unless, of course, hooligans get encouraged to fight their own battle.

If acted out aggression belongs to the animal kingdom, mankind could prove its godlike status by evolving beyond the urge to kill each other. As Buckminster Fuller said: There is enough for everyone.

Evolution has never stopped. We won't speed it up by genetic engineering but with the conscious control of our individual and collective evolution.

Not honouring the dead

Bans on irc happen easily, yet sometimes a bit surprising. Reminding Australians that their fellows were abused in any war they were fighting for the Brits or the Americans causes heaps of objectivions to the typical predictive programming Australians went through. Amazing.

"Don't mention the war" has become a running gag among my mates who introduce me as "German", and I had lots of fun trying to keep up with the stereotypes thrown at me. While my mum made me a pacifist when recalling her childhood memories during the WWII, the perception of German people still clings more to bad American TV series than any historic or psychological account.

While I happily take any Nazi allusions with a contended, yet desperate smile, reminding Australians about the abuse their soldiers took under British and US command evokes jingoism instantly. I'm aware about the genocide my fellow countrymen did, white Australians still seem to consider themselves to live natively here. Reminding Ozzies that British and American officers and generals send Australian soldiers as cannon fodder around, is "dishonouring" the death.

I've seen the WWII frontline in the Northern Territory, but Australians (unless they were unfortunate soldiers fighting another countries war) were spared from the immediate experience of war (mainly because they never considered eradicating the native population of an invaded continent as war).

So the Ozzie experience of war is more like joining their masters in a stupid war abroad, and celebrating those who managed to survive this insanity. The genocide of the native population is not just ignored, but continues today and is noticeable with the statistics about life expectancy for black and white Australians.

I don't mind being reminded about the war - I didn't fight it, and was considered unsuitable for the German military. If I was proud about German military achievements, I would be called a Nazi. Reminding Australians how their soldiers were abused in the Boer war, WWII and Vietnam turns out different... means thinking stops and nationalism rises.

The power of memes amazes me more and more. It makes people identify with situations, which they have not the faintest clue about, and breeds more people willing to sacrifice themselves for phony promises.

I guess it's just life. It might be psychologically easier to identify with killed idols than with a genocidal bunch. I still don't believe that Australians have killed more people for "good causes" than they killed to take over the continent. I just realised it's unpopular to say so.

Of course, not all Americans are a bunch of fucking morons. Just the ones with money and in power, bringing the rest of the world down with spending billions of dollars to kill innocent people, send lawless contractors on rape holidays in distant countries most Americans couldn't even find on a map. Well, someone rants more eloquently about this.

Unfortunately, internet censorship works faster than I expected. I can still the video on facebook, but some gatekeepers have removed it from public access. Well, that's life. Telling the truth is unpleasant for the parasites running this planet, especially if it's on the money. Nevertheless, I could dig out the website of the ranting gryphon who provided the world with a different perspective on America and Americans.

Woah, I found another copy on youtube.. enjoy it while it lasts.

The conflict in Northern Iraq escalates more and more. The US happily tolerates Turkish attacks in the Kurdish areas in Iraq, all while the Turkish government has "credible intelligence" that Kurdish terrorists might seek retribution.

And, indeed, like promised by the Turkish government, a terror attack hit a region in Turkey inhabitated mainly by Kurdish people. Although no one claimed as yet responsibility, Kurdish activists are blamed straight away. And even SBS concludes that this latest terror attacks "obviously" are the retribution for the air strikes in Northern Iraq, as announced by the Turkish government.

What happened to journalism in Australia? Obviously, independent sources are no longer sought, and any governmental statement is taken at face value, even from a government that just started to finish the genocide of Kurdish people, breaking international law and bombing innocent people to smithereens.

What happened to the Australian media consumer? It seems like they stopped thinking entirely, believing in the massive, global terror threat, and ignoring the millions of people killed by the US, Britain, Pakistan and now Turkey.

Britain has already introduced laws that reek like thought crime, and soon Australia will follow suit and muzzle independent thinking as well. Only "experts" will be allowed to comment on terrorism, and those sit in so-called democratic governments.

Terrorism exists. It's the preferred strategy of so-called democratic governments to abolish democracy. Orwell's eternal war against terror entered the real world after 911, and instead of asking for more control about the governmental mafia called intelligence services, these legalised criminals get away with more and more bloodshed.

Citizens not only have to pay more than a tithe to subsidize governmental murder, but soon their own enslavement. And they cheer, because the media told them that "something" has to be done against terrorism, and feel safer while the terrorists in government take away civil liberties, which took centuries to be established.

Meanwhile, the governmental terrorists cover their backs by transforming democracy into fascism, which is euphemistically called "Public-Private Partnership". Happy New Year.