WORLD CUP vs. WORLD WAR?…

How the Romans Keep the Masses Entertained

 

By

Doug Krieger

 

Another world spectacle has concluded and, as fate would have it—the Romans win!  France’s fiasco—Zinedine Zidane’s now infamous headbutt of Italian defender Marco Materazzi—was watched by over 1 billion astonished fans.

 

 

Panem et circenses – Bread and Circuses

On a similar note (if I could indulge your distraction for a moment—while all hell breaks out in the Middle East), an ancient Roman satirist by the name of Decimus Junius Juvenalis (Juneval – 55-127 A.D.) bemoaned the fact that the Coliseum’s aggressive gladiatorial entertainments—as the powers of emperors grew ever stronger—were but a grandiose dissuasion designed to diminish the Roman Senate’s (and, consequently the people’s) real responsibilities of governance.

Ultimately, that inane focus caused this noble institution to atrophy into a figurehead, making a mockery of this once noble endeavor of administration.  Complacency vs. Caesar—so, the Roman masses succumbed to the dictates of her foremost elitist. 

Juvenal’s lament went something like this:

“The people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else, now meddle no more and longs eagerly for just two things — bread and circuses.”

Thus were the days of Republic replaced by dictatorship.  This pitiful phenomenon grew all the more disturbing in Juvenal’s view as freebies of food and gruesome gladiator gruel were served up to the conspicuous consumption of citizens whose pleasures pleased the Pontiff Maximus.

 

Nothing like mindless entertainment, synonymous with amusement or defined by the World Book Encyclopedia as “anything which pleasantly whiles away the time” or “a more elaborate means to hold attention” (p. 72, 1979 edition).

 

Food, fun, and frolic had seized upon the Roman populace.  The contests of the Coliseum and the chariot races of the Circus Maximus had, according to Juvenal, utterly distracted Roman brilliance.  Alas!  Self-gratification had replaced self-governance!  From whence we derive the word juvenile?  Perhaps.  One thing is certain—better to excite the masses, rather than incite the proletariat; rather to provide the plutocracy with gravitas, than cave to the levitas of the plebeians.  Somehow the “powers that be” had no intention of relinquishing their responsibilities to the second-class citizenry of Rome—even so, the more things change, the more they remain the same!

 

What greater notion than to pander to the baser proclivities of human nature, while entertaining the vicissitudes of the opulent in the midst of their aspiring pursuits of wealth.   

 

Bread and Circuses is another way of saying that “short-term solutions” carried out by irresponsible government is naught but a well-chosen ploy to mollify civic virtue, while securing unquestioned obeisance from a compliant and socially-at-rest populace.

 

Interesting, isn’t it, that gleefully throwing out food in Rome’s Coliseum has such an eerie resemblance to launching packaged hot dogs into the outstretched hands of cheering fans during seventh inning stretches at America’s baseball parks?   Mixed in with debauchery and sex, violence and vacuous propaganda kept/keep the “freedom-loving” frill-seekers mesmerized with mendacity, while the truth remained/remains “out there” – i.e., the merchants of the earth—ever resourceful—“let them eat cake” while the charade of prosperity descended/descends upon the pocketbooks of Rome’s freemen, let alone the multitudes of slaves who served/serve as pawns to buttress the massive illusion of peace, safety, and abundance in Roman and modern times.

 

 

A MORE ELABORATE MEANS TO HOLD ATTENTION

So you derive from this diatribe that the fundamentalist has an ax to grind with the delicacies of that Great City—oh, indeed he has—but his distractions lie elsewhere, not in Sodom and Egypt as of this declaration.  It is one thing to extend the thumb at the roaring of humanity’s seas in the Coliseums of our day, while Caesar and the corpulent Corptocracy have their “fill of it” (Know what I mean?), but mere games and perfunctory leisure for the populous as the plutocrats pillage is not the satanic strategy currently employed by Babylon the Great and her Twenty-First Century subsidiaries.

No, no, her modus operandi in so far as distracting the multitudes while “managing her affairs” is unalterable; however, the sophistries whereby she achieves her inequities has evolved into a wholly sophisticated orchestration whereby the time and space of the people who deign to contemplate on a higher plain deem their attentions above the vulgarities of entertainment; instead, these modernities elevate the Roman games out of the arena into the ethereal plain of societal wars—i.e., the bourgeois and plebeians slug it out while the plutocrats laugh all the way to the bank.

In sum:  Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilley, Michael Medved, Joe Scarborough, Michael Reagan, Michael Savage, Dennis Prager, Janet Parshall, Hugh Hewitt, Ollie North, Cal Thomas, Lars Larson, James Dobson et al – doing social combat with the likes of: Randi Rhodes, Al Franken, Mark Riley, Marc Maron, Janeane Garofalo, Mike Malloy, Jerry Springer, Thom Hartmann, Laura Flanders, Lynn Samuels, Nancy Skinner, Stephanie Miller, Peter Werbe, Michael Moore, Howard Stern et al . . . simply take up 99% of the airwaves – the same can be said of TV and the lion’s share of the print media.

Now, we’re not talking about the touchy-feely spectacles of Oprah and Dr. Phil . . . we’re talkin’ highfalutin programming that causes voters to turn out and engage in the political discourse.  Voting pocket book issues has become so passé—after all, how in the Sam hill can I affect the price at the pump, or for that matter, any and all wars around the globe?  Be serious.

Flip on the dial; surf the tube—CULTURE WARS ROCK!  What turns on the listeners and viewers is NOT the likes of Greg Palast’s Armed Madhouse, Kevin Phillips’ American Theocracy, David Korten’s When Corporations Rule the World, or for that matter, Larry Schweikert’s America’s Victories—Why the U.S. Wins Wars, and Will Win the War on Terror. 

No, the “powers that be” delight you with home and hearth issues like abortion on demand, gay marriage (or, the rage—gay curriculum), euthanasia, anything having to do with First Amendment rights—whichever side you’re on—drugs and cigarettes, global warming, gun control, immigration, prayer in school, creationism, needle exchanges, flag burning, stem cell research/cloning, privacy issues, ad nausea, ad infinitum.     

Is this to say that all the above bear little importance to the times in which we live?  Of course not—Michael Savage’s War Within or Pat Buchanan’s Cultural Wars are of profound significance.  However, they are just as significantly important to the “merchants of the earth” who desire your focus upon these “games” juxtaposed to the boring subject of economics and why we go to war or suffer the inequities of social injustice in the first place.

 

THE MINOR LEAGUES

Now, while you're listening to the exciting disputations of Ann Coulter and Randi Rhodes . . .

 

“The Democrats’ only hope is to lie and pretend they stand for something other than the right of women to have unprotected sex with men they don’t like.  For example:  the right of women not to commit suicide.  During the supreme Court confirmation hearings for John Roberts, Senator Feinstein said, ‘As a college student at Stanford, I watched the passing of the plate to collect money so a young woman could go to Tijuana for a back-alley abortion.  I knew a young woman who killed herself because she was pregnant.’ I (Ann Coulter) know a man who killed himself because of high taxes.”

 

Got your attention . . . ?

 

“To find out what Democrats really think about abortion, you have to read The American Prospect or listen to liberal hate radio talking about Republican judicial nominees like Priscilla Owen:  This country cannot have a woman on any federal court if she interpreted a law that says a parent has to be notified of a minor child’s abortion. That’s like the Nazis!  Lock your doors tonight, America!

 

“One begins to appreciate why Democrats aren’t wild about any political system that permits people to vote.  Liberals (a.k.a. progressives) would have no chance of advancing their bizarre policy agenda if Americans were allowed to have a say in the matter.  So they manufacture phony ‘constitutional rights’ in which the Constitution always sounds suspiciously similar to the ideological agenda of the ACLU.  We know what Democrats want to do, but it’s suicide for candidates to run on ensuring the right of minor girls to have partial birth abortions paid for by the government without parental notification.  This has to be done through the courts.”  (The Church of Liberalism, Ann Coulter, p. 89, Crown Forum, New York)

 

O.K. – we’re really getting into it!

 

“This guy [Judge Alito] just creeps me out. He’s quiet. He’s not a guy who shoots up stores; he dies in a blaze of glory. No. That’s not who he is. He’s like one of those guys who goes along for years really quietly ... murdering hookers. You know what I mean? That’s more him. He’s the kind of guy that you live next door to for 30 years, and then all of a sudden a bulldozer shows up, and there’s 31 kids buried underneath. You know what I mean? That’s his temperament. He’s not a junkyard dog. He’s not a barker. He’s not like a [UN ambassador John] Bolton; y’know, obviously a big bully. No. He’s more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He looks really ‘milk toasty’; you want to pet him, and actually, I want to make boots out of him. Y’know. But, uh. No. He’s a hunter. And he’s hunting for ways to – y’know - (changing tone) ‘Balance of power? Oh. That’s so ‘80’s. 1780’s!’ You know what I mean? This is who he is.” (Dave Piere’s Blog, Radio Transcript)

 

Come on, isn’t this entertaining?  Well, if this contest doesn’t get you to the polls, maybe this match will:

 

“Evangelical leaders insist they know how gay marriage affects their voters—they’ll stay home if politicians don’t push for the FMA (Family Marriage Amendment). ‘It’s the one issue I have seen that eclipses even the abortion issue among Southern Baptists,’ says Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Last month James Dobson, the influential founder of Focus on the Family, met privately with key Republicans, including Frist, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader John Boehner, to warn them about the political consequences of failing to promote issues like marriage. ‘If you forget us, we’ll forget you,’ he said, according to a GOP House leadership aide who was briefed on the gatherings, but declined to be identified discussing private meetings.” (June 5, 2006, The Randi Rhodes Show)

 

 

THE MAIN EVENT

 

There we were, shouting and screaming for the Sacramento River Cats (Triple AAA Baseball)—just can’t get any more exciting than this?  But, as I shared with the Seventh Graders, and they with me:  “Well, it’s not the Big Leagues, but it’ll have to do . . . What do you mean, Mr. K., not the Big Leagues, isn’t this the main event?  Nope, you’re in the wrong park for that action!”

 

As energized and mesmerizing as the “action” on “Dialogue America” is—nearly all of it has little, if anything, to do with the main event.

 

Aside from the fringe ramifications relative to the impact of immigration upon economics—most of us could care less (though it would be nice if they raised the minimum wage and we somehow got a hold of this “border thing”—Hey, and I’m not minimizing legitimate contractors going BK as “illegals” drive them out of business because they won’t play by the “rules.”).  Frankly, we’re far more motivated by the “social agenda” (and that goes for both the Left and the Right) when it comes to driving us to the voting booth (though some old school folks plod to the polls by habit, a few by duty).

 

“It’s the economy, stupid!” really doesn’t have the ring to it like it once did—should, but doesn’t. 

 

 

BIG OIL vs. NEO-CONS

 

Operation Iraqi Liberation (O.I.L.) . . . this acronym was an actual in-your-face declaration made by Neo-Cons prior to its immediate change to O.I.F (Operation Iraqi Freedom).  This “Crusader Whoops” is a most aggravating admission on the part of the Bush Administration to have it both ways—what do we mean by this?

 

Here, we must delve into the compelling observations throughout Greg Palast’s Armed Madhouse—given the actual facts so presented.  Allow me to quote several pillars of his thesis:

 

“It’s not the oil itself—the United States could have doubled our take from Iraq simply by lifting sanctions.  It’s all about George Bush’s seat on OPEC.  That is the real, if never discussed, booty of this war . . . but what George Bush should do with his OPEC perch is what requires the occupation to drag on, not the provincial tussle between Shias and Sunnis, but the gladiatorial fight to the death between neo-cons and the Big Oil establishment.” (Armed Madhouse, Greg Palast, Dutton, 2006, p. 83).

 

Allied with the U.S. State Department, Big Oil (according to Palast) decided to torpedo (reasons stated later) Neo-Cons at both the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institution.  Their plan was to tear apart OPEC by eliminating Iraq’s Saddam, thereby privatizing Iraq’s oil reserves (selling them off to the West)—the “second-largest in OPEC after the Saudis.”  The Neo-Con plan was hatched before the 2000 US Presidential elections.

 

Bringing the Saudis to their knees, through the neo-con “no-brainer” would also, according to neo-con Ari Cohen of the Heritage Foundation, who subsequently gave his scheme for an “OPEC-free world” to Kim Holmes, the Heritage chief, who “took it inside the Bush Administration when Holmes became an Assistant Secretary of State” eliminate the Shia clerics’ cash cow for the project of forced Islamization once they took over Iraq from Saddam. (Ibid. p. 84)

 

Finally, “with OPEC smashed, the former Soviet states, including Russia, (now) completely dependent on oil income, will be at America’s mercy” (Ibid. p. 85).

 

Paul Bremer (chief US Administrator in Iraq after Saddam was smashed), “marched through Iraq’s economy like Sherman marching through Georgia, issuing his 100 orders while Iraqis bowed and cowed” forgot one major portion of the neo-con plan:  The privatization of its oil industry!

 

Ari Cohen, according to Palast, “hissed the names of the saboteurs” . . .

 

“Arab economists (Nawaf Obaid) hired by the State Department who are supporting the witches’ brew of the Saudi royal family and the Soviet ostblock” (Ibid. p. 85)

 

On the brighter side, the Saudis were supportive of Bush’s invasion—so why break their OPEC backs?  They assured Bush that if he invaded, they’d open the spigot full bore (12mbd).  “But once American forces were irreversibly committed and Iraq’s pipelines in flames, the price of oil rose and the Saudis kicked it higher by withholding more than a million barrels a day from the market” – thence, we went from under $30 a barrel to over $60 (We’re now around $78 a barrel!) or from $1.76 to $3.45 a gallon at the pump and counting to $5.00 (USA—while Europe’s around $10 per equivalent gallon).

 

It’s been a big oil bonanza indeed—courtesy of OPEC price hikes.

 

“The five oil giants saw profits rise from $34 billion in 2002 to $81 billion in 2004, year two of Iraq’s ‘transition to democracy.’  But this tsunami of black ink was nothing compared to the wave of $113 billion in profits to come in 2005; $13.6 billion for Conoco, $14.1 billion for Chevron and the Mother of All Earnings, Exxon’s $36.1 billion” (to say nothing of the unbelievable $400 million retirement package given to Exxon’s CEO Lee Raymond). (Ibid. p. 88)

 

In all, according to Palast, big oil’s “reserves” increased in value, as a result of OPEC’s continued strangulation, by “over $2,363 trillion” (Ibid. p. 90).

 

By all means, Iraq’s oil industry had to remain a “national entity” – thereby, assuring OPEC’s viability AND placate the American-British-Dutch oil magnates, along with the Saudi Royals.  We’re talking big bucks for all here!

 

 

ENTER THE OIL ESTABLISMENT

 

As Wolfowitz and the Heritage Foundation were to learn—don’t mess with Texas—don’t mess with Big Oil!

 

Former CEO of Shell Oil USA, Philip Carroll, was, according to Palast, sent on a mission to Iraq shortly after Bush landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier Lincoln and declared:  Mission accomplished!  His effort was singular in nature:  Stop the privatization of the Iraqi oil industry—keep it national—keep it restricted—keep OPEC alive—and keep Big Oil on the biggest OIL BONANZA ever!

 

Carroll represented a double whammy for Mr. Bremer who was about to privatize Iraqi oil big time—Carroll was also CEO of Fluor Corporation (the largest contractor in Iraq after Bechtel and Halliburton).

 

 “Carroll told me:  Neo-con plan be damned, ‘I was very clear (to Bremer) there was to be no privatization of Iraqi oil resources or facilities while I was involved.  End of statement.’  Furthermore, Carroll would permit no ‘De-Ba’athification’ purge in ‘his’ ministry—oil.” (Ibid. p. 91)

 

Bremer’s all-powerful efforts came to a screeching halt—no one messes with Texas.   Bremer couldn’t wait to get out of Dodge (Iraq) after facing off with Carroll and eventually, Rob McKee “who’d been with ConocoPhillips Petroleum” took over Carroll’s efforts (yeah, he got a $26 million bonus for his little ditty as the de facto Iraqi Oil Minister after Carroll left).  “All through his (McKee) tenure in Baghdad . . . McKee maintained his post as Chairman of Enventure, a subsidiary of Halliburton Corporation.” (Ibid. p. 93)

 

In the midst of all this, the criminal of Iraq, Ahmad Chalabi, is seen flitting in and out of the picture—attempting (for his own nefarious purposes) to bring about the Neo-Con Plan B (as Palast calls it) vs. the Big Oil-State Department’s Plan A (keep oil prices soaring).  And, by the way, one more astute expression of humility from the Houston insurgent Carroll in reference to the stupidity of the Neo-Con Plan B:

 

“Many neo-conservatives have certain ideological beliefs about markets and democracy and this, that and the other.  International oil companies without exception, don’t have a theology, they don’t have a doctrine” (Note:  So, what do they have? First three answers don’t count!) (Ibid. p. 92).

 

Palast does a masterful job of juxtaposing the two opposing forces which have such a horrendous affect on what you pay at the pump, and what you pay for virtually everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALJIBURY/AL-JIBURI CLAN	CHALABI/AL-ULUM CLAN
State Dept. Clan	Defense Dept.—Pentagon Clan
The “Witches’ Brew”	The “No-Brainers”
Big Oil	Neo-cons
State-owned oil	Privatized oil
Drill less oil	Drill more oil
OPEC supporters	OPEC smashers
323-page “Oil Options” plan A	101-page “Economy Plan” B
3-day “disguised coup”	Long-term occupation
“Everything as is”	Total makeover
Council on Foreign Relations	Heritage foundation
James A. Baker III Institute	Project New American Century
Backed by Dick Cheney	Backed by Dick Cheney

 

And, yes, Palast did manage to secure Big Oil’s 323-page multi-volume

Options for Oil document validating his thesis! (Ibid. p. 99)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SO WHY THE GAZILLION-DOLLAR INCREASES FOR THE SAUDI-OPEC-IRAQIS, ETC.?

 

Well, for one—although Palast doesn’t bring this little item to bear in his otherwise supreme tirade—the abundance of dollars generated through this oil bonanza insures that the Saudi allies will keep the world’s economy—and the U.S. economic consumption engine—forever sustained by the almighty dollar.

 

“The United States public debt, commonly called the national debt, gross federal debt or U.S. government debt is the amount of money owed by the United States federal government to creditors who hold US Debt Instruments. This does not include the money owed by states, corporations, or individuals, nor does it include the money owed to Social Security beneficiaries in the future. As of April 18th, 2006, the total U.S. government debt was $8.395724 trillion.”

 

Foreign governments now hold upwards of 70% of these “debt instruments” –that’s one pot full of dollars being soaked up! (Wikipedia – US Public Debt)

 

Keeping the entire earth—especially, the aforementioned “merchants of the earth”—feeding at the trough of US-Treasury triumphs (that cornucopia of consumption) will necessitate “wars and rumors of wars” well into the future—funding them takes money, and lots of it; thus, Big Oil/Big Industry to the rescue!

 

Cats get fat because they eat so much—they’re taken care of so well!  Of course, they have NO THEOLOGY and NO DOCTRINE—a most interesting observation on the part of Mr. Carroll, coming from the Texas Oil Patch, which, from my recollection is nigh the nation’s Bible Belt?

 

 

 

 

 

DOCTRINE & THEOLOGY JOIN THE TEXAS OIL PATCH

 

What a bizarre sub-heading is this!!

 

Now, wouldn’t you know it, we have for starters, three aircraft carrier groups in the Persian Gulf, and due to the ideologues throughout the Middle East, the very real potential for all-out war.  This will achieve immediate consequences for BOTH the Texas Oil Patch, as well as the Neo-Con/Bible Belt ideologues!

 

“Right now there are three aircraft carrier task forces in the Persian Gulf. And whenever they had put three aircraft carrier task forces over there, it’s always to prepare for an attack. And according to Seymour Hersch, the award winning journalist, it will probably be an aerial bombardment, along the lines of what they did to Yugoslavia in 1999. As you remember there, seventy eight days of aerial bombardment by the United States and NATO with no authorization from the Security Council. Clearly illegal. Killing again, we don't know the exact number outright, four to five thousand innocent civilians. And targeting civilian infrastructure, all up and down, from which the people still suffer today. The use of depleted uranium ammunitions, outbreaks of cancer are documented today.” (The Middle East Agenda:  Oil, Dollar Hegemony and Islam, Francis Boyle,  Information Clearinghouse, July 2006)

 

There’s a premiere reason why Israel’s going all out in her DISPROPORTIONATE reaction to hundreds of rockets landing on her cities (imagine if Tijuana tried doing that to the USA).  Quite possibly, sports fans (now that you’ve entered the MAIN EVENT), you’re about to see the fulfillment of the Gog-Magog conflagration! 

 

Just remember—the greatest plans of mortal man (and they do have such plans)—are about to unfold . . . MAKE NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT!  We’ll save these overshadowing events for another day when you’re not so distracted—rest assured—they who know their God are about to enter into a time spoken of in Scripture . . .

 

“Those who do wickedly against the covenant he (the Antichrist) shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits . . . those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 11:32; 12:3).

 

“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!  For in one hour your judgment has come.’ And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore . . . for in one hour such great riches came to nothing.  Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’  ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth!  For in one hour she is made desolate.’” (Revelation 18:8-11, 17-19)