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Lira On Chile's Triumph, America's Exhaustion
Submitted by Gonzalo Lira
Chile’s Triumph, America’s Exhaustion
In Chile, the collective mood is one of hard-earned triumph, after the successful rescue of the 33 miners.
There was of course joy and jubilation when the miners were pulled out after their two-month ordeal underground. I wasn’t watching the news at the time, but I knew the precise moment when the first miner was pulled out alive: Passing cars started loudly honking their horns—Tat–tat–ta-ta-tat!! Tat–tat–ta-ta-tat!! Tat–tat–ta-ta-tat!!
But in the nearly two weeks since the rescue, there has been a collective afterglow in Chile: Everyone feels happy. Everyone feels confident. Everyone feels as if any and every problem—no matter how big—can be taken in hand, and solved successfully.
There is none of that feeling in the United States.
Americans were glued to their television sets, watching the rescue of the Chilean miners. It was all day, every day—24/7 coverage that got to be a little tedious. But Americans couldn’t seem to get enough of it—on and on and on, the coverage never seemed to stop.
A few Chileans—a small but not insignificant minority—got irritated by the American television coverage: They got irritated by a certain American attitude they sensed in the coverage—an American arrogance.
“It’s like these gringos think that they saved the miners,” a close friend of mine told me here in Santiago. “Like us poor little Chileans couldn’t have rescued the miners on our own—as if we needed the gringos to do it. But we didn’t need the gringos. It was Chilean workers, Chilean engineers, Chilean plans that made the rescue happen—not the gringos.”
“Yeah,” said another friend. “What did the gringos bring, aside from television crews and talking heads? Gringos never respect anyone else’s achievements—they always try to make it about themselves.”
This wasn’t the prevalent thinking in Chile—but it wasn’t an insignificant minority, either. And I couldn’t refute my friends, because they were right—
—but at the same time, I could understand why Americans wanted to latch on to this amazing story:
Americans just want to feel a little bit of triumph, a little bit of joy.
The problem with Americans isn’t that they’re trying to hog the credit: It’s that Americans feel as if their country is a failure—they just want to share in a little bit of that wonderful feeling.
The glow that comes after an undisputed success.
The United States hasn’t felt success in a long, long time—at least a decade. Ever since 9/11, Americans have been living in a state of constant panic—constant fear—an irrational fear egged on by the leadership classes.
This constant state of panic has led Americans to create a police-state, where the police is there not to serve the citizenry, but to keep them in line.
This constant state of panic has led Americans into two pointless, endless wars, where “victory” is impossible—because there’s nothing to be won.
This constant state of panic has led Americans to be afraid of anything and everything—no matter how trivial and innocuous—and turned the American people into a timid, docile, frightened lot.
This constant state of panic has exhausted America.
First 9/11 and the pointless, endless Global War On Terror. Then the Global Financial Crisis in 2008—then more financial bad news—unemployment—downsizing—then another financial crisis with the Mortgage Mess: Constant never-ending crises! Never a moment’s rest!
And throughout these crises, throughout these years of wailing sirens and flashing red lights, there’s the sense—inarticulate, but ever-present—that the American people are being played for fools:
Played for fools by the banksters, with their multi-billion dollar bonuses, paid for courtesy of the U.S. government that bailed them out—and not a one of them going to jail for what they did.
Played for fools by the politicians, who promise hope and change, but deliver more of the same—because they are the same: Peons of the lobbyists, suck-ups to their corporate masters.
Played for fools by the corporations, who sell foods that are unhealthy, plastics that are unhealthy, communications gadgets which are unhealthy—then lie and say, “They’re harmless!”, even as they settle lawsuits whose conditions are that they do not admit to wrongdoing, or accept responsibility.
Played for fools by the security apparatus, growing like a cancer on the body politic, which periodically issues vague and pointless warnings—“Danger! Danger!—A terrorist-threat alert for all of Europe!”—a security apparatus which has become more threatening—even more dangerous—than the terrorism it is supposed to prevent.
Played for fools by the generals, who claim that this new strategy will bring about victory—a strategy which, after tens of thousands of more soldiers, and hundreds of billions of dollars for the military contractors, fails like all the other strategies.
Played for fools by the doctors and hospitals and insurance companies, who don’t so much heal Americans’ injuries and cure their diseases, but rather suck them dry like leeches of old—only they don’t drain them of blood, but of money.
Played for fools by their fellow citizens, as everyone seems hell-bent on trying to screw over his neighbor, whatever the costs, whatever the consequences.
The mantra of the last decade in America has been buy!-buy!-buy your way to happiness!—as if mere things could fill a life with joy and purpose. No wonder something like half the population of the United States is morbidly obese, while the other half smokes as much ganja as they can get their hands on: They eat and get stoned so as to numb the mind, dull the pain—get some rest.
The people of the United States are exhausted. Fatigued. Burned out. No más, no más, as Roberto Durán said: No more. No more.
The trapped Chilean miners—as historical events go—was trivial: It’s nowhere near as important as, say, the upcoming QE2, or the Currency War, or the looming crash in America’s debt.
But for the little bit of time that America’s attention was so single-mindedly focussed on the trapped Chilean miners, the American people could pretend that they were saving the miners.
For a little while, they could pretend that America’s leadership was responsible and serious in the face of a crisis—not incompetent and ridiculous, as they proved to be after Katrina, and during the BP Oil Spill disaster.
They could pretend that America’s engineers and workers solved this difficult problem—with no excuses, no second guesses, no failed plans.
They could pretend that America was basking in the warm comforting glow of confident success.
As they were digging out the trapped miners, a Chilean mining engineer said at one point, “We’re prepared: We’ve got three rescue plans going on at the same time—and each of those efforts has a back-up. And each of those back-ups has a back-up! So one way or another, we’re going to pull our fellow countrymen out of there alive.”
That’s what America needs—that’s what America yearns for: Someone to pull them out of their hole, something that will bring them back up to the surface—alive and beaming with joy, a clenched fist triumphantly punching the black night sky.
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- words by van halen.
Yeah, I been in debt from conception
I pay for the rest of your life
As long as I remember, bills have looked me in the eye
You can have it now but ya gotta pay for it later. Oh!
Work me out, the payment's cleared
Now you're workin' for the man. Yeah
They gotcha goin' in. They gotcha comin' out
Same amount, woo! In 'n out
Ain't no way 'round the system
Money make this world go round
All the way, they got you down
Stay and add it up or throw yourself out a window. Oh!
Might cost you less to stick around
One more payment. Lay it down, on the ground
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f08yZ4Lc9kY
Brother can you spare a dime? Tom Waits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVE72Ae82Tw
Al Jolson - Brother can you spare a Dime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo
"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)
They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?
Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!
Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!
Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?
One of my favorites, along with "We're in the money" sung by Ginger Rogers. On you tube (Gold Diggers of 1933), amazing how she can sing it backwards. Interesting line about the 1921 silver dollar being reintroduced.
I seem to recall that there were, in fact, at least some American engineers working on that project. That is, unless the mining companies hired some gringos to talk to the American cameras.
That said, I don't think there is an engineer alive that could design a system to pull America out of its hole as it is.
Jeff Hart was working in Southern Afghanistan under the LOGCAP IV contract for DI subcontractor Layne Christenson Co. and was drilling water wells when disaster struck a mine in Chile and 33 workers were trapped.
http://civiliancontractors.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/dyncorp-employee-pla...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7247564.html
The solution is too simple for an engineer: throw out the banksters, wide scale default on all debts, new national currency issued by the government, not the banksters. Germany had full employment shortly after doing this, following their hyperinflation. Problem was, they also had Hitler.......... (could we be far away?)
Wherw would an engineer construct such a system, there's no solid ground to build on.
Gonzalo-
Most of what you write is bullshit. I sure as hell wasn't glued to my TV set. I am not taking any credit for rescuing the miners nor have I heard of any of my fellow americans doing this. Could you provide a specific example? Since you mention you are in Santiago I wonder how you know what so many americans are thinking. Have you been glued to your TV set?
I could go on, but what would be the point?
And yet here you are. One of the first commenters on a story about the trapped miners. You just can't get enough of it. Admit it.
Commentators commenting on comment. HUH?
I just came to junk this guy. Way too much opinion and self-importance and not enough substance.
Where's the beef!!??
This reply is not a blog-post-comment. *
* see Godel, Escher, Bach
You think I came to Zero Hedge to get more info on the miners?
Oh man, this is too funny. I agree, the whole 24 hour worldwide "news coverage" of the poor miners was nothing but a great propaganda coup and here this guy is posting on ZH no less!!
WTF
If I wanted Matrix brand kool-aid I would be watching the idiot box.
Yes, what would be the point of you going on? You know nothing, and understand even less.
I find Gonzalo Lira's writings on ZH, while not perfect (whose are?) to be full of insights that our "leadership" and institutions would be wise to take to heart.
+ 1
Mr. Lira gives good insight.
Midas: yes, what would be the point of you going on? You know nothing, and understand even less.
I find Gonzalo Lira's writings on ZH, while not perfect (whose are?) to be full of insights that our "leadership" and institutions would be wise to take to heart.
During this event (2 months), I'm susprised that Malika or Sahsa didn't ask BO if he had rescued the miners yet. Probably he forgot to tell us that tidbit with all he is doing to rescue the economy - yeah, from capitalism to socialism, and playing golf.
...collective afterglow in Chile: Everyone feels happy. Everyone feels confident. Everyone feels as if any and every problem—no matter how big—can be taken in hand, and solved successfully.
While Pinochet's heir goes to that shitty little island (England) to plot against his neighbor and Latin America sovereignty in general. The well known in America brainwashing, the MSM treatment, is on full blast in that sick little twisted country.
what a douche
Glued to our TV sets? really? REALLY? brother.. I merely caught the news in passing and then it was repeatedly shoved down our throats. If anything, they glued it to us. Yeah, I said a prayer and hoped they'd make it out.. but I didn't dwell on it and I most certainly didn't go bat-shit-F5-crazy on it. I was more concerned with the political shenanigans and financial theivery. I think you're way off on this one. Only the sheeple were consumed by this distraction.
rofl
seriuosly!
Let me tell you.. waking up to my wife watching msnbc and Matt "pussy fuck shit" Lauer "ooh ahhing" about the miners was not my idea of "Folgers in my cup". That guy needs to have a pair of balls re-attached to his scrote.
Dude, I'm actually kicking and screaming laughter hysterically on the floor right now! Well, not really but damned close!
The comments here are shaping up to be the worst panning of somebody's public stupidity that I have joyously witnessed in a long time! Hey, that should be some consolation to you, no?
lmao
That makes one person I've had to pleasure to entertain today. Though, if you didn't snort your drink through your nose, then I think I didn't try hard enough. Have you noticed that Al Roker looks like a giant fucking head on someone elses body... it's like it's not even his body. Just a head that kind of wobbles around and smiles as he and the first Ronald McDonald have "funny ha ha's" for a few seconds.
I'm glad Katie Cuntik got mauled by her own kind. I couldn't stand that condescending bitch. I woke up to that lesbian snatch licker and chucked a pillow at the TV just as my wife walked by and I beaned her in the melon instead. That was also a bad folgers morning... hmph..
Matt PFS Lauer. That's gold.
True! And America hasn't been laboring under fear; it has been laboring under a bureaucraticly imposed passivity, in which everything is either illegal, or needs a permit that takes 3 years, or is taxed to death; and a teachers union imposed system of indoctrination rather than education that renders most of its graduates uncompetitive in the market place. Smothering lethargy, that's what we have.
In Cali, where I spent a good amount of (more than half) my time in the US of A, I was always drawn to Latino immigrants. Their lives were so edgy, most of them illegal, never seeing their families etc.
One common phrase, which I learnt early and used often and which always got a roar from them was...
Mucho Trabajo, Poco Dinero! Too much work, too little money.
And it was true, which is what made it painfully funny at the time.
I think Americans better get used to saying that to themselves and their soon to be fellow-citizens (oh yes, amnesty is very much part of the plan, check out the power of the national council of La Raza, people are coming home....)
ORI
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com
I read the whole thing & I really liked it !! How true, how true, how sad, too. All I know is that I never remember things being like this years ago . Am I the only one who remembers a time when WASHINGTON D.C. just wasn't a factor in our lives . Does anyone other than me remember a time when JOHN WAYNE was the normal American man & the normal American woman wanted to marry her own JOHN WAYNE !!! Something is wrong in this country, you can feel it ...... We're being manipulated, lied to, scammed, herded; it's as if we exist for one purpose only ~~ to enrich Wall St. & Washington. There's nothing left for them to take anymore ! Even the damn self-respect has been taken from us ........ or did we just let it all go without a fight.
A lot of morally corrupt people out there didn't want to work for it so they decided to lie, cheat and steal their way to the top and steam roll good, hard-working, "john wayne's". It got to the point where people saw it happening and nothing was done about it so they just joined the morally corrupt. It was the only way to "get rich" and not get steam rolled in the process.
Listen to these words by the great JFK and you'll understand how they subverted the American spirit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dOOFB8fs38
I agree with you, it is sad to see a great people reduced to the pettiness and meanness of evil instead of virtuos environment of opportunity and prosperity for all (which is possible!).
The tone IS set by the leadership...they whacked him and you can draw a line from LBJ, Vietnam, Pentagon Papers...to today.
Ike was right...and it was the MICC.
The M.I.C. is the K.E.Y. and the M.O. in the U.S.I.
Seriously though, this can all be tied back to the Central Banking Cartel (aka the Frauderal Reserve) which can be tied back to the mother squid... the Rothschilds... which can be tied back to the usurious kind. Just google "rothschild churchill" and you will begin to learn and unravel the real history of the last few hundred years... something even our forefathers tried to fight off...
It was nice to see the miners rescued . Their futures so bright they had to wear shades . Many will never enter a mine again . That never again attitude will spur Americans to depose the current olgiarchy . We are a patient people politcally, but don't push too far . The envelope has no more room . Things are not bad enough ... yet.
It always nice when people survive a situation like that, but for fucks sake.. I think there are enough people in Chile' to stand vigil for them. Seriously, after the first news article I started to verp.. I really didn't give a shit anymore. We have our own problems to deal with.
"Hey God, there's a bunch of dudes trapped in a mine. How about you stop fucking with them and get them out. Thanks.., oh.. and while you're at it drop a Piano on Pelosi". Now get back to the news about the financial terrorism and the other crap that causes a daily vaseline drip from my bung hole.
Speaking of John Wayne, didn't the Duke get nuked? Just like the rest of us in the USI, the Duke got fucked by our "system." He and 45 others on the set of a movie filmed downwind from all the radioactive A-bomb testing in Nevada died of cancer!
The Rock
Maybe it was karma for the great lengths he went to avoid service in WW2. The Duke was a mold for Cheney.
mental illness is treatable
nice little piece of trivia: howard hughes was the producer of that movie.
I remember--this country has changed so much, for the worse IMO, in the last 30 years that it is almost unrecognizable to those of us who grew up in the 60s.
god bless you god bless you god bless you - this delightful article was a breeze of fresh air after being holed up in a mine with the corpses of the plutocratic oligarchy and their fetid lies....
the constant state of trumped up emergency is the basis for enstating the the police state....some of you all need to go to trutv and watch jesse ventura's conspiracy theory....
americans are played the fool because they are fools who have been brainwashed by their leaders, dumbed down to nincompoops while being told that they are the best and the brightest....in a sense, despite enormous accomplishment americans are loosers who have sacrificed their heritage to a vicious cabal of murderers (read rockefellers, luces, bundys, harrimans, dulles, bushes et al ad nauseum who have created the 4th reich in amerika)
i was apprehended by a nazi cop today because i was walking around a parking lot waiting for a food order. the asshole demanded to see my identification and i told the asswipe to arrest me if he wanted to see it....the asshole flew into a rage and called 3 backup police cars to assist...however, i went about my business and left...
i am sure that i haven't seen the end of it. i fully expect to be murdered by these brown shirt nazi police skin heads but i will not roll over for big brother and his trumped concerns about my welfare....go fuck yourself police bitch.
in the mean time, americans must wake from the strong delusion or else go the way of germany not only in hyperinflation but into unbridled nazism....it is not coming - it is already here.
I'm stroking my .308.. no really.. I just got finished cleaning it. Sorry, but I'm sick of the American Bashing. So kindly insert your thumb in your ass and let me know if your shit doesn't stink. I think it does. Americans are NOT their government.
The tone of your comment points out that you agree with most of what Lira is writing. We have become weak, we need insurance for everything! People buy insurance for the fing pets! People spend 24$ to insure a 30$ appliance ha! Face it, we are not at the bottom when banks can not fail, not because it would matter, but because we are afraid it MIGHT matter for a few seconds ha!
Is it because I have a gun that you think this? Most people are afraid of guns so they are weak in that respect. I'm not afraid of them at all. In fact, I enjoy an evening at the range talking with other gun owners and non-slaves.
...in the mean time, americans must wake from the strong delusion or else go the way of germany not only in hyperinflation but into unbridled nazism....it is not coming - it is already here.
And if you think it's bad now, just wait till the Tea Party is running CONgress next year. As awful as Harry Reid is, his likely replacement, Sharron Angle, is undoubtedly the dumbest cunt I have ever see making a run for public office.
Then she will be in excellant company. Rather than stand out she will blend in perfectly.
Well played, sir! Your round, I think. :-)
Very well played. +3.14
And thats saying something considering Christine Odonell is also running!
Indeed. Yet, once upon a time, before the 20th Century, they would have pulled themselves out of their own hole. No more.
PS. Looking forward to your upcoming guest spot with Max Keiser, Gonzalo. It should be interesting!
Gonzo, Felicitaciones
I am afraid that it may be too late for just one person to save America. The stronghold of the calamari cartel and their bitches in congress is so tight that it may take decades to clean-up.
What I wrote in another post earlier is that the only hope for a quick restoration is a military coup. (Which will be unthinkable a few years ago.)
Whose military, or maybe, which military?
America exhausted? Garbage.
We need leadership, not a self-centered messiah.
The only exhausted people I run into are those who watch the idiot box. I find that anyone who interacts with the internet (no POS facebook crap) but ZH as an example is energized and looking for the oppertunities that will exist soon. However, my electric bill does tend to wear me out.
LOL, me too...
cossack55
"I find that anyone who interacts with the internet (no POS facebook crap) but ZH as an example is energized"
Probably because they are BATSHIT insane, paid posters for various agencies from PR firms to GOVERNMENT plants, or have played way too much call of duty and confuse video game violence with real world reality.
Here is a hint to help define the difference, in the real world when a state collapses there is virtually NO medical resources.
Try carrying that bag of GOLD a hundred miles to the nearest SURGEON who may or may not be able to treat you.
My nephew is a private practice physician who is actually more of a prepper than I am. He has the gold, I have the silver and we both have the food and guns. I have found that many of the medical types I know are holders of PMs and are now diversifying into local crop land. Hmmm. Also, I would recommend the books
When there are no doctors
When there are no dentists
Forwarned is forearmed indeed.
Cry no tears for me, Argentina or GF, I love both entropy and chaos. Opportunities abound.
PS. The Final Redoubt is stocked and prepped and ready for occupation. I never travel that far from base. Seen everything I've wanted to see the last 30 or 40 years.
Not one of your better pieces, GL. The target is simply too soft and easy to hit.
Good article GL. You'll get some flak but your points are good ones. It was interesting (but so sad) to see USA berate the Indonesians et al after their tsunami ... and to offer to send in US troops (an offer thankfully declined), and then for USA to fail so miserably at sorting out their own mess in their backyard when Katrina struck. At the time I mused whether Indonesia should have returned the favour and offered to help out and sent some of their troops to Louisiana! Tragic. A sure sign of the end of the empire.
Nice creative, inventive post. I'm still looking for the first true statement in it. Can you help me?
Our leaders and congress reflect us as a people. I voted for Obama just because I thought McCain Palin would have been a right wing nightmare, even worse than the last Bush dynasty representative. What a mistake. I should have voted for Nader. But you know, they trundle out these empty suits and say "Here are your two choices. Pick one of them." So we dutifully obey. But who could imagine that Obama would turn his back on everything he promised? The guy has to be psycho to be that underhanded. He didn't even make the most limp-wristed attempt to defend his campaign proposals. I think it is the being constantly lied to and played for fools that is causing such national despair and turning everyone against their neighbor, in the broadest sense of the word neighbor. Look at the BP mess. Once again, Obama talks and does nothing, while BP literally sweeps all the oil under the rug, the rug being the Gulf of Mexico. Lies, lies, lies, everywhere you turn. We have become a country of the lie. Why don't we give the country back to the Indians? We lied to them as well. Maybe we should make amends as part of the healing process.
3rd parties are the way to go. There is nothing but evil remaining in the demacriminals and republicons.
"We"?
The lies told to the injuns were not told by me. I bear no responsibility for the sins of any of the people in the past who happen to have the same skin color as I do.
People with better weapons technologically steal from people with lower technological weapons.
The Romans had the intelligence to develop many of the technologies we take for granted right now, they just never had a competitor who was engaging in similar weapons development and rotted from within till a bunch of savages made easy pickings of them.
Pretty much the history of the world, however we like to gloss over that consistent theme in 5000 years of recorded history.
I have no problem with the government spending money on keeping the edge. I do have a problem with a fat congressman voting to keep a project going because a few slobs have a job making a shitty weapon in his district.
Which is where our problem is right now.
Excellent article GL, but your comment regarding the purpose of the police in America; ie, "This constant state of panic has led Americans to create a police-state, where the police is there not to serve the citizenry, but to keep them in line." misses the mark by several hundred years.
The police state in America is, and always was, to protect TPTB from the great unwashed masses.
If you read 'A People's History Of The United States' (still the all time largest selling history text of the US by a very wide margin) by the late Howard Zinn, you will find that the first police, or sheriffs, were hired by the holders of vast tracts of land in the Hudson Valley. When the peasant American farmers balked at ever rising land rents and refused to pay, the land owners organized a posse of rich land owners (themselves) to go forth and collect the back rents. The tenant farmers shot a few of the land owners and forced them into retreat. The the land owners realized that they needed a layer of sheriffs and associated bureaucrats to enforce the collection of land rents, after all, why should the wealthy land owners get shot collecting their rents when they could hire the task out to a bureauracy, and the taxes to pay the bureaucrats would be paid, in the main, by the farmers?
Voila! the first bureauracy was formed! And, from that humble beginning we now have the entire complex of federal, state, and local bureaucracys that have rendered our nation FUBAR!
For what it's worth I do sense a despondency among my aquaintences and others, like myself, that operate small businesses. I look forward to the day when government at all levels will be reduced to many fewer employees that sit on their azzes and dream up new bs rules that hinder the small main street business man working 60 or more hours per week to earn half of what a brainless bureaucrat earns by playing on the computer in his/her cubicle while 'at work'. This crap needs to stop! Now!
This may not be completely accurate, but isn't the NYC gun control law based on a Tammany-era deal between the cops, ward bosses, and the criminal gangs? The police wanted the citizens defenseless and got a cut of the loot from muggings, robberies, etc.
Honest. friendly, helpful policemen, like picket fences, are 20th century nostalgia. Now you're guilty until proven innocent, and if you talk back, out comes the taser.
Don't tase me bro!
So very true. I've seen it with my own eyes working as a contractor for various levels of government (an employee for a contractor to be exact, as the bosses make a killing on the hourly rate they charge). In a nutshell, the government idiot hires a contractor to do his work while said idiot takes most of the credit.
Excellent article GL, but your comment regarding the purpose of the police in America; ie, "This constant state of panic has led Americans to create a police-state, where the police is there not to serve the citizenry, but to keep them in line." misses the mark by several hundred years.
This is exactly what I mean about this guy. The "FBI" originally were the thugs who worked for the elite and broke up workers striking for decent pay, safe environment etc etc. If you dig deep enough, almost every major institution in this country has a dark history and it is that way because they, the fascists behind the fake federal reserve have owned this country for over a century. So here comes little GL and starts blabbing authoritatively about something he knows very little about.
As an addition to my post above I would like to post what Howard Zinn said about his book 'A Peoples History Of The United States' when interviewed by the NT Times:
"My history... describes the inspiring struggle of those who have fought slavery and racism (Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Fannie Lou Hamer, Bob Moses), of the labor organizers who have led strikes for the rights of working people (Big Bill Haywood, Mother Jones, César Chávez), of the socialists and others who have protested war and militarism (Eugene V. Debs, Helen Keller, the Rev. Daniel Berrigan, Cindy Sheehan). My hero is not Theodore Roosevelt, who loved war and congratulated a general after a massacre of Filipino villagers at the turn of the century, but Mark Twain[1] who denounced the massacre and satirized[2][3] imperialism.
I want young people to understand that ours is a beautiful country, but it has been taken over by men who have no respect for human rights or constitutional liberties. Our people are basically decent and caring, and our highest ideals are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which says that all of us have an equal right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The history of our country, I point out in my book, is a striving, against corporate robber barons and war makers, to make those ideals a reality — and all of us, of whatever age, can find immense satisfaction in becoming part of that"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_People's_History_of_the_United_States
I would recommend a little Ambrose Bierce along with your Twain.
Bierce? He worked for WR Hearst. That, and the fact that he fought for Lincoln, is all I need know about him...prattle indeed.lol
'In 1887, he published a column called "Prattle" and became one of the first regular columnists and editorialists to be employed on William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner,[2] eventually becoming one of the most prominent and influential among the writers and journalists of the West Coast. He remained associated with Hearst Newspapers until 1906.'
All true. But just like many of todays comics with whom I share not one iota of philosophy, I still find them funny. The bottom line remains the same, complete your due dilligence in all matters. Good job, SW.
I have to agree that it is hard to tell if America was glued to its t.v. set or if the MSM was simply pushing the story ad nauseum. The "All Chilean Miners Rescue All of the Time" on all the US networks -cable and basic, local and national - and ditto for Candian networks...not to mention the printed press and radio, really pissed me off. People who work in media were glued to this event! Journalists and their ilk are playing such a huge role in keeping the veil drawn over the crisis. It would seem that bad news and corruption and scandals don't sell as well as they used to.. Or at least not scandals that are so huge that they "threaten" the current (anti)-social order.
I agree with GL that it is unbelievable how much coverage this story got in America while a tsunami of corruption is washing away its very foundations..
Journalists and their bosses are terrified of losing everything because the truths that they must be more than aware of are likely to trigger an Existential Crisis on a scale so damaging to corporate America that many of them would lose their jobs.Too bad that dose of hopium was cut 90% with the shit that is the collapsing World economic order which means the buzz won't last very long.
No doubt a lot of people, all over the World, were eating it up, revelling in this victory of an emerging economy, this story of the invincibilty of the human spirit, as their submerging economies continue in their irrevocable descent.
So while it may be unfair to claim that America was glued to the set, it's not like there was anything else to watch on the news.
"glued to the set...........watch on the news". What is news.
I seldom watch tv so couldn't be the judge of 'Americans glued to their tv sets' during the rescue of miners.
Americans do seem to revel in the misfortunes and arcane problems of others. How else could a soap opera remain on tv for 30 years or more?
Another point of interest to me; watch some depression era movies and one finds that they are primarily escapist clap trap involving the wealthy at play in exotic locations (actually Hollywood sets). On Saturday afternoons the average person spent a nickle to see 'glamorous, wealthy folk, dining and dancing.'
A thousand of these escapist films were produced for one 'Grapes of Wrath'.
The Nazis had no corner on propaganda.
Snidley Whipsnae
"watch some depression era movies and one finds that they are primarily escapist clap trap involving the wealthy at play in exotic locations"
Or musicals or cartoons. Thus the rise of modern Tv like American Idol or Glee.
Sadly it looks as if most networks have ditched Saturday cartoons, even if they were any good.
But the Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park still draw large audiences.
i switched from TeeVee watching to fireplace watching. come to think of it, american architects of living room design back in the 60's put the TV stand next to the fireplace, see it all the time. conspiracy theory me thinking, so you stay warm while being subliminally controlled and conditioned by the MSM and their puppet agents, agents of spew propaganda and products we were suppose to buy. i told this lady clerk to turn off her TV that she has on 24/7 and start a fire everyday.
Sending miners down to work in a mine that should never have been open, and then having hundreds of millions of people waste their time wondering if they'll make it out is hardly an "undisputed success."
Hate to break it to them it was American engineers and American equipment that drilled the rescue shaft.
http://www.examiner.com/sf-in-san-francisco/why-american-drilling-hero-j...
Now the comments about the press...totally true as well as the feeling in America. This seems more due to the acceptance that the political class offers no solutions due to lack of fortitude and corruption is rampant. It is depressing when you know the same asswipes that got us into this mess will still be in charge. The 2 party political system and unlimited terms for congress is what makes the people depressed. Once the nation gets really pissed changes will be made...but that won't occur until the mezmerizer (TV with it's mindless programs) stops working and people snap out of their trance.
Yes, the ego of the Latin cultures just irritates me. I have worked in Indonesia, Jap[an, Korea, and they do "labor" there, and they also have technology fixes as well. But the Latins seem to think the sun rose because they "crowed" about it. Truley crazy. And Lira exhibited it in FULL TECHNICOLOR puke.
Hell NASA was involved???
My brutha!
http://t.co/WGNfdZj
I have always had this feeling that upon election, every first-time Federal officeholder is taken, like Galileo, and shown the "torture chamber" which awaits him if he doesn't comply with certain requests now that he is elected. Sort of like that old Bradbury story about the "Museum of Suppressed Inventions". Or "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". Or better yet, the Stonecutters on the Simpsons. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBav72i7I3s
There is no need to threaten violence! It's much simpler than that!
In fact, the most influential of newcomers are invited to the annual Bohemian Grove shindig to rub shoulders with "the elite" ... where they are photographed performing unnatural acts with their fellow legislators and..........................
The rest is easy. :)
LOL, they'll get you one way or another!
Fidelio! And then Kubrick died.
"no dream is ever just a dream."
mrhonkytonk1948
In the late 80's - early 90's 60 minutes did a segment on a local city councilman. They followed him around with his permission because he wanted to expose the corruption. All sorts of perks started flowing his way. Junkets to exotic loactions and what not.
Magnify that by a thousand for feds.
Probably better stick to writing about how Chileans think, as you seem to understand Americans about as well as I understand Chileans.
Americans don't live in fear, but neither is fear of terrorism the least bit irrational. Our armies and weapon systems are spread across the Islamic world from the Sinai to Afghanistan, and 99.9% of the billion or so people living there want us and the Israelis out, and no small number are fanatical about it. 9/11 surely won't be the last time some of them attempt a grandiose terror attack on American soil.
Errr, yes they do! They live in fear of muslims, mexicans, drugs, atheists, gays, blacks, hip-hop, and McDonalds running out of burgers and fries!
Errr, yes it is! You are in far greater danger of being tazed for talking back to a police officer than you are of being injured by a "terrorist attack" -- whether it was conducted by the government (9-11 and Oklahoma City) or actual foreign terrorists (USS Cole).
let me help you with this one. We are in far greater fear of being imprisoned for blowing a hole in the criminal seeking to perpetrate some crime upon us. I'll go with that; but I'll be damned if you think I live in fear of muslims, mexicans, drugs, atheists, gays, blacks, hip-hop(it's shit any way) and McDonalds (yuck!).
1. Muslims: bleed like anyone else
2. Mexicans: see #1
3. drugs: could care less. don't use them, don't need them
4. atheists: not may place to tell them to believe in anything.
5. gays: need to shut the fuck up already. We get it. They like cock.. what else is new
6. Blacks: I wasn't aware that somene's skin color made them more worthy of fear. See #1
7. Hip-Hop: It's trash, but that is MY opinion... so whatever.
8. McDonalds: -_- blech...
Wow ... you sure are one tough son of a bitch! ... and surely representative of the average American!?
But, just to prove it, tell us: Who's going to win the Amazing Race? How 'bout them Packers? Does Christie Brinkley really need an Extreme Makeover?
I would expect a response like that. Seriously, it's the only viable response anyone could reply with. Especially when your perception is that all Americans are suckers and one of us replies as I did... all of this on the interwebz. I couldn't tell you squat about football. I don't play it, nor do I watch it. I rarely watch TV as I am, more often than not, too busy working. So apparently you know more about that stuff than I do. Does that make you more of a brainwashed fuck than I? I dare say so.
Suffice it to say that you clearly don't know wtf you're talking about.
So UGrev, what then, is your assessment of your countrymen? The problems that are plaguing the World are certainly not only America's. But it is America that has the military might (at least for now) and the self-proclaimed moral responsibility to "teach" the World how a democracy should be run. Do you feel that enough Americans are enlightened such as yourself to make a difference? Maybe you are not trapped in the clutches of fear but do you see any evidence in your day to day that others might be? And it's not that you actually have to be scared of dying in a terrorist attack to be afraid of Muslims.. If you believe the official line that they are a threat to democracy and "freedom" the extent that civil liberties must be curtailed to the point that they have been and that a homeland security industry with over 800 000 Americans toiling away to spy on you and your neighbors is necessary, then you are giving in to the fear. And I'm not saying this applies to YOU in particular. But from the outside you have to forgive people for thinking that a good number of Americans think this way. If this is not the case then what are you and your silent cohort going to do about it?
I think a lot of us are tired of extending help and getting pissed on for it after the fact.
Anyone who opens up their arms to our teaching of democracy is doomed to fail. Especially since we're supposed to be a Republic. Teaching "Mob Rule" is no way to offer a lesson in freedom.
My level of enlightenment is relative. There could be people out there that are more enlightened than I. So I'll exclude them as they are already counted. But, No.. there is a definite deficiency in the number of Americans who aren't being nose-ringed.
It's really hard to be trapped in the clutches of fear when you're fucking clueless and oblivious to anything that would cause such fear. I refer to the previous reply which mentions football, etc, etc.
A wonderful statement, observation and question. It's not that I believe that Muslims are a threat, rather, I beileve that the lack of assimilation into our culture (and yes, we have a culture of our own) by all that come to our country, that will be our undoing. It's ok to have diversity, but you must also have unity and I'm no longer seeing this with a majority of the immigrants who come here. What I do see is that they want to live in their culture outside of their country, which is not how it's supposed to work. As for Homeland security, it's a farce. It's another one of those entities that was created to cater to the fearful while giving overwhelming power to the government. I'm sure I'm on a list someplace...perhaps many. I don't care anymore. I did once.. but not anymore.
I forgive them for thinking that a good number of Americans think this way, but I don't forgive them for thinking that ALL Americans think this we way.
I feel that we're in a bad situation either way. If we try it peacefully, which we are right now with the elections, then I don't think that's going to last long enough to have any long lasting effect. One thing I do think it a pretty accurate assumption is that we do have short memories. We'll swing to the right and then forget why and then end right the fuck back here again. If we try a revolution.. well.. that's just bad. We seriously don't need to be killing eachother; though I have to admit that if a bus hit a few choice liberals, I wouldn't call 911.
Yet, you obviously know enough about football, which you claim to neither play nor watch and know squat about, to correctly identify the Packers as a football team. i-dog's post makes no overt mention of football. Also, i-dog makes absolutely no mention of T.V., yet you were able to form the connection.
Perhaps i-dog is undergoing the brainwash process, but you sir, appear completely blind to the process, ergo, in your case process complete.
Hard to ignore idle chat with friends and family and not ask questions so you can actually participate in the conversation. Otherwise the conversation is over and I become the party pooper. One does pick up cursory information enough to make a general connection to things. Or perhaps this never happens to you and all your information comes from 1:1 direct contact. In which case, you must live in a cave and be smart as fuck. Good on ya!
Thanks for the sincere answers!
I agree that it must be frustrating to be constantly lumped in with "those stupid" Americans. It's not like Canadians, Brits or Continental Europeans are any less stupid or ignorant but America is in the unfortunate position of having the biggest stick to swing around and the World's reserve currency which gives it this magical ability to carry on like it's still #1 even though it has exported its manufacturing base while endebting itself to the hilt. My own experience amongst my fellow Canadians continues to be a frustrating one. Most of the people I speak to about this, which is everyone I know for it is really the ONLY thing that matters to me anymore, recognize that there is a problem but are quite confident that this problem is mainly 1) an American one and 2) will take of itself the way previous crises have. People seem to be completely incapable, despite millennia of historical record, that when enough people are up financially up against the wall, that all hell can break loose, and so must quicker than anyone realizes.
When the banks say they are too big to fail, they are essentially blackmailing the world. Those who pretend to represent the law MUST call their bluff... But this could get messy very quickly.. If the banks live up to their bluff and simply pull the plug on the global banking system governments worldwide will have no choice but to impose Martial Law to keep essential goods flowing. Speaking of short memories, people do remember the confiscation of Gold in the 30s but how often to we hear about the conscription of WW2 and the resource rationing of staples such as bread, (not "food" but bread) and fuel? Rationing and outright command and control is the name of the game during periods of systemic breakdown which is exactly what World War 2 was. This is the "miracle" that ended the Depression. But during these tough times in the 40s people where a hell of a lot more self-reliant and so were capable of getting through somewhat on their own despite shortages. And then all the "stimulus" of WW2 which also led to massive debt-fueled spending on ramped-up technological development, everything from t.v., radio and velcro to aeronautics, computers, synthetics and so on, culminating with the Manhattan Project and Hiroshima/Nagasaki, was unleashed on the post-world order. Things were good for like 20 years and already by the 70s the cracks were showing as people started to feel the pressure to keep up with the Jones'. It seems that for all the progress in extending rights to those formerly unrecognized as people (you know, women, blacks, gays, etc.), the sexual revolution, Prozac, easily accessible porn for all...all these "freedoms" have been distracting the masses from the fact that they aren't very free at all. Only money, a LOT of money, can buy that.
We owe our wizzbang technologcial futuristic existence to the 60 million + who gave up the ghost in the 2nd Great War. And finance and deficit spending is what drives the process. No matter the monetary system in place, historically financial innovation has been driven by the needs of warfare. But good, honest people just REFUSE to believe this because IT IS quite frightening. How can all that is good in the world be backed by Evil? Impossible.
But in many ways all of this is beyond our control for humans are but bit players in the great show which is Nature. For all we know this is all part of an evolutionary process that Earth, one of many billion planets in the Universe that harbors life, is going through in an attempt to seed the Universe... Humans getting into space is about as crazy as single cell organisms getting on land from the sea. There are so many intractable biological and psychological problems with humans leaving the sanctity of gravity and society that the only way to succeed in colonizing space would be to evolve into a machine-based organism that can adapt to different gravities and atmospheres and is not subject to the cruelty of our - on a Galactic level - ephemeral life span.
So perhaps the incredible rise of Google and the Internet and the ever greater concentration of financial and political power in the World's Corporations is all part of Nature unfolding as she pleases. Of course Earthlings might decide they don't want to colonize space and just farm and fuck and be happy until swallowed by the Sun in 4 billion years but I doubt that the A-type thrill seekers out there would be too happy with that. The richest people in the world are practically their own species when it comes to their perception of what is right and good in the World. And I strongly doubt that anyone on this site would be any different if through accidents of birth and circumstance they were part of this Elite group. I for one, am willing to admit it. In any case, it is their unenlightened self-interest that drives them, and thus the World. The rest of us are merely worker bees, the Earth's red-shirts.
This does not prevent me from pondering the bigger questions.. Where is all this going? What is the point of Earth? The Universe is so much bigger than what we can possibly understand and yet we are of it and we do try do understand it. So whatever narrative is being played out between different iterations of civilizations made up of crazed naked apes will continue and I do believe we have the ability to shape it...but so far it seems that whatever entity gets to monopolize the human narrative long enough wins out for generations.. I mean, what the hell is the Catholic Church still doing with so much power and influence over people and how could Islam have such appeal to so many people, when Google is there to not only answer all our questions, but tell us what it is we should be doing?
First, thanks for taking the time to reply. I don't find offering insincerity as a response very productive. If I'm sincere and I'm proven wrong with factual evidence, then it's better that I admit this, learn from it and grow stronger from it. We see where lies get us, don't we?
I can't say that I completely disagree with this statemtent, though I would like to add that he leeches are trying to find a way to make a buck off it and usurp control if this evolution at the same time. I also can't say that I'm happy about this direction either. I would much rather prefer individualality over "one world" anything.
#6...HUH?
In other words, you are totally oblivious to crime data?
Foreigners from monoethnic societies pointing fingers are morons.
Most of your responses are conditioned by your white fear of the racist label.
Is crime data suppose to make me more afraid something? please explain your position on this. You can't be afraid of racism if you're not a racist. My point was that it doesn't matter where you come from or what you look like.. we're all human and we all have the same, basic, pro's and con's.
Quote "It’s that Americans feel as if their country is a failure—they just want to share in a little bit of that wonderful feeling." unquote. My reply: 1) That feeling is OK to share.
2) America is not a failure. The parasites are killing the host corporation, UNITED STTES, INC. (YES IT IS A CORPORATION - DESPITE ALL THEIR DENIALS.
Has it occurred to anyone in Wall Street DC that patterns of coordinated criminal activity involving securities fraud, mortgage fraud, perjury, forgery and a litany of other illegality coupled with the use of the mails and interstate commerce just might constitute the basis of a RICO action? By: edward thomas: Executor - Expressly Reserving All Liberties. A Man and A Living Spirit. Not a person, human-being, corporation or other type of abomination! a Private Dweller! Who is Not For Public Use! Foreign to the UNITED STATES, INC., as an Independent international location upon United States Minor, Outlying Islands and non-domestic to the District of Columbia.
Read the nine eleven commission book. You will see that the nine eleveen commission did nothing to investigate the crime and everything to bury it under further misdirection. If you dont take the time to develop a critically tested opinion, then be careful about sharing it. You will reveal something about yourself that you probably should keep secret.
+1
:-)
"Americans were glued to their television sets, watching the rescue of the Chilean miners. It was all day, every day—24/7 coverage that got to be a little tedious. But Americans couldn’t seem to get enough of it—on and on and on, the coverage never seemed to stop."
It was great to learn the miners were rescued. However, I was not interested enough in the story to watch.
It is wrong to assume, just because MSM broadcasts an event 24/7, there is legitimate popular interest in the story.
I may have CNBC tuned in (mute on of course) when the market is open. It does not mean I am listening to their propaganda or that I am interested in what they are selling. Just watching the ticker and scoping out potential Robo screen captures.
I happened to come across a call in show where they had some expert psychologist from some university telling me I wasn't human if I wasn't drawn into this story. Blah blah blah. I guess I'm not human. Living in fear? Nope. Do I yearn for some post disaster effort that we can rally behind and have the TV package it into some kind of nation building exercise? Nah. I derive more joy chopping my wood that I will burn to keep my family warm this winter. Screw the drama. I prefer the boring chores of a self reliant lifestyle.
+ 1000 chopped logs
Excuse me but the miners' rescue and "Chile's triumph" wouldn't have happened without the US technology and expertise that was called in when the mine collapsed.
Specifically, highly specialized, patented drill bits made by small PA companies. The kind of companies that you probably couldn't get off the ground today in Obama's small business destroying, government-everywhere-all-the-time world. That's what is going to exhaust America.
http://theweek.com/article/index/208186/7-us-firms-that-helped-save-the-...
I must have missed the memo because I haven't been afraid of anything.
"Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear belongs to a small set of basic or innate emotions. This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger. Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any external threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.[1] Worth noting is that fear almost always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable. Fear could also be an instant reaction to something presently happening."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear
The Law of Diminishing Returns is kicking in for every Gonzalo Lira post on Zero Hedge.
That was easily the most superficial piece I've seen on here in a while.
I love how you get junked here for having an opinoin.
I love how you get junked here for having an opinion.
Having an opinion here is like making a sales pitch: No one wants it unless it comes wrapped with useful information. :)
I thought it was that you had to agree with and subscribe to their opinion exclusively?
/end sarcasm.
Things are relative. What are the expectations of a people? I would guess that Americans have a very high expectation of what their country should accomplish, so the bar is set high, and the disappointments many. I doubt a similar rescue, if it had occurred in the US, would have resulted in the same nationalistic fervor, as it would have been a human story and not a means by which the nation would judge its greatness. The warm glow from the infinitely more complicated Apollo 13 rescue did not last all that long, as I recall. We'll see how long the Chileans celebrate their millennial national triumph.
It will no doubt be enshrined in perpetuity as a Hallmark movie or go straight to DVD.
hear, hear
double post
Where's the chart showing a mass exodus of Americans into Chile? If I felt even 1/10th of what Gonzo is saying I'd be on the first plane out.
I'm glad they got the miners out, but I've seen maybe a few minutes of coverage on this in total. In fact, I forgot they were even stuck down there. The only way this article would make sense is if the miners developed a new type of integrated circuit or discovered cold fusion while they were down there.
Mr. Lira, I usually like what you post, but not this one. The "gringos" did nothing?
In the immortal words of Jon Stewart, "are you fucking kidding me"???
It was a drilling team from Texas with drills from Texas that did the heavy lifting. It was a company from Pennsylvania that made the fast cut drill bits and they are the only ones in the world that makes those. The "rescue capsule"? That also is an American invention and an AMERICAN PRODUCT as well. Hell, NASA was invloved for God's sake. SO the Chileans like so many other Latin cultures get a bit puffed with their fals bravado of machismo, that Latins are so famous for.
They don't understand that many places "man up" whcy the hell should they get any credit for running a third world mining company and putting these guys in harm's way so deliberately???
That is one thing about the Latin culture that just irritates me, latins think they are the only "real men" in the room and also think they are the only ones capable of doing hard work.
PULEASE!!!!!!!!!!
We're only as good as the stuff we give them. Has it become the normal expectation that America is supposed to always help? and then get the shaft? Seems like it's been the way things have been going for a while now. Personally, I'd would have told them to start digging with spoons. We have a nasty habbit of spreading ourselves too thin and trying to help everyone when our problems at home are many. I'm sure all these countries are capable of handling their own matters and don't need our help. So let them...
What's this crap about Chilean miners? Perhaps I should get cable.
Like many, I question Lira's credentials with regards to geopolitics and economics. It seems, he has none...just more opinion spewing. Which is fine. Everybody's entitled, of course.
What Lira does bring to the table, though, is the fact that he is a novelist. I, for one, am definitely interested in getting seasoned writer's take on human nature and the struggle that all advanced societies face.
Lest you think Lira is just some self-publishing hack, with no business being highlighted on such an influential blog, think again! He's on Amazon. Go there and review a few for yourself, and you'll see first hand why Gonzalo Lira, novelist filmmaker is someone to be read, and taken seriously.
Here's one avid reader's take on Lira's "Counterpoint", which frankly, is better than anything coming out of Lira himself:
_______
Abysmal--Utterly Abysmal.
I'm astonished that such a poorly-written, cliche-riddled book could be published. This is well below mediocre level.
There's almost an Ed Wood quality of badness to the writing. The first paragraph would have been blue-penciled by any experienced editor (what kind of editors would accept this drivel, I wonder?). My favorite "bad" line, from the book's alleged climax:
"He hit the ground. His head, when it hit, sounded like a bowling ball or a watermelon, hollow." There are dozens of such lines which read like those "inept writing" contest results that circulate via e-mail.
The narration shifts constantly from wisecracky to ponderous, and the sentences are put together by someone with an ear of pure tin. Perhaps it takes a subtle sensibility to detect why this sentence doesn't work:
"(), what a mess, " said Chisholm, her gun in both hands as she toed all the bodies in the kitchen."
____________
And today we read the novelist, filmaker's take on the American psyche....Americans were "pretending to save the miners".
Only Americans, today, are waking up to a sad reality. They didn't actually save the miners. And when this realization dawned upon all of them, their heads hit the ground. And their heads, when they hit, sounded like a bowling ball or a watermelon, hollow.
Gonzalo Lira, novelist filmmaker...novelist, filmaker, Internet Pundit...on all matters of economics, geopoltics and the American Psyche.
What a fucking joke.
"Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free."
Federalist #8.
The natural progess of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.
Thomas Jefferson
You can now get a job with Rupert Murdoch.
GL,
Imho, way off and filled with much evidence that you start with the conclusion you want and scatter half data around in support of your "analysis" as to make me skeptical of all your work.
1) Americans do not choose how cable fills the time slots. A hand ful of Tv producers make those decisions based on there being no other news ...and of the available news ...what gives them the best chance of developing a soap opera arc that allows them to not pay multiple freelancers for alternative content to fill 24 hours
2) Very few Americans watch cable news
3) The exhausted nation had more people in attendance at their kids football games than watching Chilean miners
3) Try telling us how America is more exhausted than it was in the 60's and 70's, the 30's if you want to make a serious point.
4) Projection about the "true" feelings of others is same kind of fantasy "thinking" about other people common to the same kids who read Tiger Beat.
5) Americans and American technology rescued the Chilean miners...you know...exhausted Americans
Be honest, you do not know very much at all about what Americans are feeling. Nor should you be expected to. There are 300 million of them and only a few from specialized sub segments reveal their thoughts completely enough for you to have context. Blogging commentary is far from held opinion...and far from representative of the commentor or "Americans"
"good news" is all over the place if you do not read financial blogs. Most folks "community" is a town, their kids school community, their church, their neighborhood...and most of all their family.
Most Americans are happy the Chilean miners got out ...but well aware what ever happens to Chilean miners does not affect them
Seriously, this effort weakens your better work, it feels written to provoke instead of analyze, it honestly feels like trolling. It certainly has the arrogance of someone who confuses recent levels of attention with feedback that they have good insights.
imho
+++ a whole f-ing bunch!!!
+100000000000000000000000000000000000!!!!
Lira and "Latino aggrandisement".
Chile was settled by Germans and Italians. The indigenous population is much smaller than other Latin American countries. They have a lot of affinities with Europe. It's a beautiful place. They suffered under Pinochet, but also in a twisted conflicted way, much the way many Europeans suffered under fascism.
I would say that Chile is rather far from Latino ...
But as far as Lira's piece, put it in the circular file ...
sorry,
What I meant in that post by "good news" is around outside the financial situation (which I think is the most important thing going on in the world right now) is that most Americans I know are not exhausted at all and are just not really finding a return on their investment to pay attention to the media or the polticians.
imho, they are not fooled at all and angry at the media, Congress, the Administration, politicians and bankers...all of who share an approval rating of less than 20%.
They dismiss all these people out of their mental shelf space and concentrate on the group they can affect. Family, work, school, church, community.
imho, when the cost of the current system makes the risk of an alternative clearly advantageous will they switch. I do not think they are sheep...I think they are just very pragmatic and they know that all of us who want change...just want change but have no realistic well though out alternative beyond protest and venting.
The people of America do not get to choose the news programming. Rather, they are programmed by it.
Americans should feel happy for rescuing the miners ...
AMERICAN Companies Rescue Trapped Chilean Miners
11-13-10
Posted on October 13, 2010 7:06:25 PM PDT by STARWISE
Far be it for an American President to publicly congratulate (let alone even mention) AMERICAN ingenuity and AMERICAN PRIVATE ENTERPRISE for the miracle rescue of the Chilean Miners.
Schramm Inc. of West Chester, Pennsylvania built the drills and equipment used to reach the trapped miners.
Center Rock Company, also from Pennsylvania, built the drill bits used to reach the miners.
UPS, the US shipping company, delivered the 13-ton drilling equipment from Pennsylvania to Chile in less than 48 hours.
Crews from Layne Christensen Company of Wichita Kansas and its subsidiary Geotec Boyles Bros. worked the drills and machinery to locate and reach the miners and then enlarge the holes to ultimately rescue them.
Jeff Hart of Denver Colorado was called off his job drilling water wells for the U.S. Army's forward operating bases in Afghanistan to lead the drilling crew that reached the miners.
Atlas Copco Construction Mining Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin provided consulting on how to make drilling equipment from different sources work together under differing pressure specifications.
Aries Central California Video of Fresno California designed the special cameras that were lowered nearly a mile into the ground sending back video of the miners.
Zephyr Technologies of Annapolis Maryland, made the remote monitors of vital signs that miners will wear during their ascent.
NASA Engineers designed the "Phoenix" capsule that miners would be brought to the surface in, and provided medical consulting, special diets and spandex suits to maintain miners' blood pressure as they're brought back to the surface.
Oh, and Candadian-based Precision Drilling Corp. and South-African company Murray & Roberts, drilled a backup rescue shafts in case the American rig failed. Which it didn't.
WELL SAID! I remember now that the drilling company was not from Texas, and it was Lane Christensen. Thanks for posting that article.
That kinda shoots the hell out of Gonzo's centeral theme meme, now doesn't it.
Makes Gonzo's source in Santiago a little self serving.
It's beginning to look like somebody is drilling Gonzalo a new butthole.
Go look at his site. The comments are not very supportive of his version of events. A few are a bit put out with theis blatant "America" bashing. As another poster stated here, we don't need to have our help celebrated and bandied about. Gonzo did not do this, he basically stuck a finger in America's eye on helping, and minimized it.
We don't need the hearld of trumpets, but would it hurt these countries to at least "appreciate" the help given rather than being so racial/national/curltural centric????
I'd be willing to bet most Chileans do indeed appreciate it, even if we never know or hear about it.
... Gonzo style.
Regardless of credit i was glad to see
the miners escape and live. The emotion
i felt was similar to watching JPL land
spirit on Mars in January 2004. This
was AFTER 9/11 and most definetly was
in a dark period of time - particularly
for techies. The emotion of seeing the
first guy come up was the same as hearing
a JPL tech excitedly shout "parachute
deploy! we see parachute deploy!" and
the cheers from the team. Seeing Chileans
wearing their flag, showing their flag
reminded me of the JPL tech (of asian
descent) wearing his American flag shirt
on the big night.
I am glad the Chileans let us help. I
remarked to my son that the Chileans
were able to accept help but the Russians
were not able to accept help for the
Kursk until it was too late. Yes it
might not have mattered anyway. I'm
glad the Chileans bent a little and
I'm glad we aren't beating the table
too hard about how we got to help.
Out of all the articles I have read on zerohedge, this is perhaps the best.
This country is going down a deep hole, and people like Krugman, Obama, Bernanke, and others are doing their best to destroy what is left.
This will not end well.
There is no capitalism left, only corrupt people stealing what little is left.
Sorry Gonzalo...your last couple articles were pretty good, but this one is pure bullshit. Just another opportunity to blast the gringos, and a pathetic one at that.
A total MISS, lira. Stick with what you know.
But it hasnt been boring since y2k: market up 40% down 30% up 50% down 60% up 63%. Who needs tv. Then you got 3 wars. Bush 1 dick, clinton sexual preditor and personnel opportunist and convicted od impeachment. Bush 2 moron but fun to watch his fuck up. Goog aapl BIDU pcln crm ect. Sex stupidity and open financial unpunished crimes. Peoples life savings wiped out but pensions saved. City pensions exceed 1m per year while no one was watching. People pouring into bankrupt bonds because they think the Fed will backstop and corps. It all good.
Been pretty exciting decade no wonder we are burnt out. I retired at 50 becauae I refuse to pay into soc sec and income tax.
Time for me to relax !! You all have fun beating your brains out.
An excellent commentary on the "state of the USA", Gonzalo, and on the depressed psyche of the American people.
It is most unfortunate that many Americans are not even aware of the fact that their country is just as much "a Police State" as is Russia. Nor are they aware of their unfounded arrogance. Among the worst of two attributes one can have are arrogance, coupled with ignorance.
As one who was born here in the USA, I am often ashamed of the behaviour of Americans when I travel overseas.
American companies and United States government agencies that provided crucial levels of support and strategic consulting. They helped make this operation possible.
1) The U.S. State Department played a key role by putting officials from the Chilean government in touch with government agencies and U.S. and foreign manufactures who were capable of providing the engineering solutions that led to the successful rescue.
2) NASA, The U.S. Space Agency, had input on three important issues.
a) Rescue Pod design. The NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, consulted with 20 of its engineers and eventually provided over 75 design suggestions for the Phoenix II pod, used to hoist the trapped miners to the surface. Part of the skill NASA brought to the project was experience in "thinking small" and packing a lot of functionality into a small space. The Chilean Navy ,which built the pod, incorporated many of NASA's designs. The pod itself was roughly based on an earlier mine rescue pod used in the 1960s in Germany.
b) Nutrition, diet and health. A team of NASA physicians and nutritional experts visited the site and provided advice on the types of food that should be sent down to the miners. The food and liquids changed as the rescue date drew closer. NASA also provided advice for clothing capable of regulating blood pressure as the men were raised up the shaft.
c) Psychology. A NASA team with experience in behavior health support consulted with the rescue team in Chile, providing advice on everything from finding ways to help the men cope with long-tem confinement in a limited space, to normalizing their sleep patterns. they also gave advice on building a sense of community and ways to deal with the pressure of the public spotlight after they're rescued.
3) The Drill - Schramm Inc. of West Chester, PA, manufactured the specialized drills and equipment used to bore and enlarge the main rescue shaft. The company had personnel at the site for over a month, with rescuers using one of Schramm's T130XD rigs (it was already in Chile for other operations).
4) The Drill Bits - Multiple types of drill bits were used, but specialized bits provided by Center Rock Inc. of Berlin, PA, proved to be particularly useful. The company provided the hardened drill bits used to bore through particularly tough or challenging materials, such as quartzite.
5) The Drilling Operations - Crews from the Layne Christensen Company of Wichita, KS, and its subsidiary Geotec Boyles Bros. coordinated the drilling and ran the machinery that was used to bore the holes which initially located the miners. They also operated the specialized drill and equipment used to enlarge one of the holes into a rescue shaft.
6) The Drilling Chief - Jeff Hart of Denver, CO, was drilling water wells in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army. He traveled to Chile and stepped in to help lead the drilling crew that reached the miners.
7) A Little Quick Systems Engineering - The Atlas Copco Construction Mining Company of Milwaukee, WI, provided consulting, via telephone, to help make pressure settings compatible between some of the pieces of drilling equipment.
8) Emergency Cameras - Japanese manufacturers have been rightly credited with providing much of the video equipment used in the rescue. But let's not forget that Aries Central California Video of Fresno, CA, helped design a highly specialized camera (under 2 inches wide) created for use in wells and boreholes. It can navigate through narrow spaces nearly a mile underground. Back in August it was an Aires camera that sent back some of the first photos of the trapped miners.
9) Health Monitoring - Zephyr Technologies of Annapolis, MD, provided special chest straps equipped with sensors. These were used to monitor vital signs as the miners made their ascent in the rescue pod.
10) Shipping and Logistics - And let's not forget that UPS, the U.S.-based international shipping company, rushed the delivery of many tons of drilling equipment from the U.S. to Chile. They made multiple trips, moving much of the equipment in under 48 hours
Make note that this idiot reporter did not appreciate any of what we did. Therefore, if something else happens and we cannot respond, then the 98% of Chileans who appreciated help from ours, and other countries, should tell him to PSFTU...
I clearly struck a nerve with this post—the defensiveness of Americans, and arrogance to think that they are the navel of the world, would be astonishing if it weren't so pathetic.
I was going to let Madhouse's falsehoods and outright lies slide, as I've let slide others who seem hell-bent on distorting the truth—but when he said that one "Jeffrey Hart of Denver, CO" "stepped in to help lead the team" that rescued the trapped miners, I had to respond.
The leader of the rescue effort was Chilean engineer named Andrés Sougarret. He planned the rescue effort and led the team that carried it out. Google his name and see for yourselves.
Madhouse's other points are also either debatable, or outright false.
To deny Mr. Sougarret his due credit is really just deplorable . . . and it really just proves my point: Americans are at a point of such despair over the wreck they have made of their own country that they will glom on to anyone else's achievement, and try to make it about themselves, so as to distract themselves from the challenges they are failing to meet.
Sort of like when the old Soviet Union—falling apart in the 1980's—began claiming it invented baseball: Sad and pathetic.
GL
I'm not being defensive. You're the one being defensive.
---Martin Short
GL-- I think you should at least consider the possibility that you are getting so much negative feedback because you have inaccurately stereotyped tens of millions of people.
GL,
This simply was not up to your own standards
Your personal neediness took over. You write from need, you write in desperation, you assert the world is as you construct it, you write in chauvinsim, you write in sterotyping, you mix Ameircans and their government yet would go ballistic if we asserted you were just like Pinochet
You turned your back on learning, balance, nuance, compasssion, teaching, championing rational well researched and supported instructive dialog
This kind of material is part of the problem not part of the solution.
You will have the audience you deserve...but do not draw encoragement from that hall of mirrors.
Please do not engage in denial through ridiculing or dismissing the messengers instead of learning.
We all lose our place...but it is your defense in this last post that reveals the weakest of you. Might be a good idea to look at the thread in the morning through new eyes and delete it as an attempt that was not your best? Again, these things happen to all of us...its how you respond that shows the best of you
btw, I do not think the objections are remotely about who helped the miners. Glad they got saved by whomever.
And good for Chile. Happy for them. Their happiness has nothing to do with you making up a storyline to make yourself feel good by putting others down.
You know that this is not being read by the oligarchs...so your aim is gringos in general?
I think the objections are about the generalizations, the sterotyping, the turning a mine rescue story into a morality play about a subject as complex as another society...one of 300 million different people...each of whom is different tomorrow than they are today.
have to disagree with GL on this one. Since the Massey mine incident in WV, anything about miners trapped globally has peaked my personal interest. Insomuch, how is it that 29 miners died working for a company with so many infractions they should be out of business
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/montcoal/201010070677
by god, wv changed it's interstate and highway rules to allow mining trucks to haul more coal...if you have had the (deliverance) pleasure of passing through (I DO NOT STOP) some of these areas, you'd crap your pants..these highways are sometimes gravel and infrastructure - minfrastructure...getting worse. funny how public works would help, but they want to make NYC change every sign
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/30/2010-09-30_bureaucrats_or...
I digress..where is the ingenuity in mine safety in America. Where is OSHA? There are resources that could possibly be extracted safely and with little impact on the environment..getting back to WV, mountain top removal is destroying the beautiful landscape..and most of all hunting lands..i'm a simple man, who enjoys the simple stuff of life..not a basement apocolypse kinda a guy..(personally I say bring it on..believe I have the intellect and will to make it through whatever is tossed my way), but to do away with a natural resource with no foresight for investing what you take it out is plain fucking nuts. I give in for now..it's sunday and should not be cussin' up a storm. GL should have focused on this comparison in human safety and overall deplorable state of resource acquisition and preservation when comparing U.S. to rest of world. ahem, GOM oil spill..where is the oil!?!? I was amazed those Chilean miners got out. Believe strongly that if that happened here the odds of survival would be slim to none. just imho, different mininig ops, different end goals in mind. Blankenship, Blankfein..compare and contrast..a little homework assignment for ZHers. bottom line, see everyman's comments..so mad it makes you want to spit! i'll leave it at that..dont want to get too inflamatory..didnt ya hear, they're taking puck shots at the pentagon