War on Terror, War of Attrition

I never bought Bush's rhetoric on the "War on Terror."  How do you fight an intangible?  There are no guides from the past to help us: the very definition of 'war', a violent between two states, is confounded by the fact that terror is national and state lines were defined by Westerners in a post-colonial fashion irregardless of such fine points.  (I think I need to get over this whole colonial-hating thing, but it's so very easy to blame so many problems on it.  In high school, I had a hypothesis that what Africa really needs to modernize is its own phase of massive expansion and colonization.)

Annnyway.

The recent attacks on Mumbai (god...now would be a time to let them know that they need to stop hating each other...) make me think that a new phase in this protracted mess is beginning.

For the past seven years, things have been fairly one-sided; yes, the U.S. isn't making physical advances in Iraq (or *cough* Afghanistan *cough*)--and god yes there are losses and death on both sides; but terror is a thing of symbols, and Western democracy has symbolically taken those regions away from the fundamentalist reactionaries.  They're not standing for this anymore.

The metaphorical battlefield: ideology, conviction--strength of argument--symbolized in madrassas and videos and propaganda on both sides--is finally being taken to reality by the others.  Granted, I wasn't expecting this sort of thing, but it really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise.  India is burgeoning both economically and population-wise; the liberality and increasing popularity of Mumbai make it an ideal target for exposure on the American media channels, which spreads virally thanks to the competitive, capitalist nature.  (The BBC has less to worry about because it's government funded.  I'm not sure that either version of media is better.)  China would have been a target if it weren't so regulated; ironically, Xinhua's monopoly is partially protecting places like Shanghai and Beijing.

I'm meandering.  So:

We have to be ready for the establishment of a new battleground.  We have to be ready for urban warfare, for the knowledge that the people fighting will do anything that they think they have to do because they have no tangibles to lose.  This is the power of the grassroots, first truly recorded and named when Napoleon tried to take Spain.  They believe they have nothing left to lose, and that's when they are truly dangerous.

But all of this is pointless without some solution: how does one make the terrorists less desperate, less convinced of the ultimateness of their condition?  Negotiation is out of the question.  From a realistic perspective, it would make sense to give them just enough legitimacy to create a state that could be threatened, but this is practically impossible.  The debates showed that.

The real option the West has is to stop being so aggressively determined to push the idea of progress in everyone's faces.  Don't claim to have the "right" ideology or the right form of government--just be there as an alternative.  Let countries develop uniquely; Russia had a huge phase where the Slavs attempted to define a 'uniquely Slavic' form of growth.  Things were screwed up by the importation and misinterpretation of Marxist ideology; but can you imagine a democracy there?  Democracies are effective when there is an established infrastructure either due to a previous government (Europe) or to a trade-heavy system (the U.S.).

Move beyond the Cold War ideologies.  Support, don't lead.  It's time to be the sibling, not the overanxious, bumbling parentpolice.

Pirates & Terror

Aside from mentioning how horrified I am by the attacks on Mumbai (my aunt evidently works in the Taj Mahal Hotel...but this took place at night so it was "only" a problem for people like the dignitaries going to the EU...), I'm starting to wonder if this is the beginning of a trend.

The world is in an unstable, confused place right now.  For a while in the 90s, multilateral organizations like the UN and NATO were able to somewhat fill the void left by the collapse of the U.S.S.R.  But eight years ago, Bush proved that the U.S. does not need help from the rest of the world to start a war.  The interference in the Middle East has surely alarmed many freedom fi--oh, sorry, terrorists since they're not on our side--into taking action where they may have been content with planning.  And the situation in Africa has been dreadful for a while now: I bet most of those pirates would have legitimate professions if they could.  (They aren't raping and pillaging, they're systematically robbing countries with money.)

Attacking Mumbai makes a lot of sense right now, too: apart from the extremist Muslim retaliation (I really wonder if partitioning India was the worst thing to do--wouldn't be a surprise, considering how "successful" interference from the West generally is), Mumbai is also the hub of trade for the increasingly expanding India.  And since the liberal media have open access, it's much easier to promote their message through shocking visuals than it would be in China.

I'd watch out for a continuation of international incidents as some sort of balance attempts to reassert itself--in particular any sort of incident affecting a place Americans are known to frequent (holy fucking shit, they are still talking about 2 dead Americans...because all other citizens are less equal somehow?).  And yes, maybe it's old-fashioned to look for a balance of power, but it's making sense.

Med Schools "Like" Blogging

So yeah, I have to start caring about what-all med schools are going to think of my application as my strong points are all the extracurriculars I'm involved with.  This brings in a really, really obnoxious decision, though: picking volunteer organizations and internships based on the face I need to present to medical schools.

You'll hear it a lot when you're applying to college and grad school: some schools "like" this, they "don't like" other things, so on and so forth.  There's an endless list of things you can do to prime yourself into the perfect candidate besides a ridiculous GPA and test scores, showing your commitment to healthcare and community and in general the fact that you aren't doing this just for the money (but I ask: if you're good at your job, then what intentions really matter? cf. Aristotle if you like).

I hate it.

I hate being forced to jump on anything that just has the 'healthcare' label attached or to play up my role in organizations or to pretend to care about a few things that actually don't mean that much to me.  It's absurd and I've started even questioning my motivation for doing a whole host of things that should be perfectly legit as things I just want to do.

The problem is, I don't have a choice.  I want to work on human brains and I need the degree.  They've got the power and they call the shots.

Although...this is pretty much how the world works, right?  I think the point is to get used to it now, put up with it for a while, and then change things once you have the power.



In other news: Obama's radio address.  How cool is it that he is sticking to his platform?  He's not breaking any promises he didn't make.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

I don't have as much to say about Obama's appointments (other than: why is it surprising that he knows what he's doing?)...but still:

Why not?

Less than a year ago, a decent amount of Democrats were willing to consider her for President. Sen. Clinton, as both a First Lady and a Senator, is aware of how things are played in Washington and how she has to appear in the public eye--I think we can agree that she handled her husband's impeachment with grace, and all First Ladies are expected to be socially active.

On a shallower, odder note: she's got hair rather similar to Condi's. If you look at them in silhouette, it's sort of like the same person again....

Anyway, I don't see why people are more concerned about how it will look having Bill Clinton back around (seriously, personal issues should not affect your job if you are still responsible there; separate the spheres, people) and whether Obama is just trying to be conciliatory. To these people, I say: do you have another consideration for SecState? I haven't seen alternates proposed on the New York Times website or Politico.com (I admit, though, those are the only two sites I really visit frequently).

I think she'll do the job. And if she doesn't, she will be held accountable by a determined administration.

Explanations

It occurs to me that I've never really explained the title of this site.

So back in high school, half my friends (okay, the overwhelming majority of the people I actually spoke to on a regular basis) used "meh" as the sort of generic word. I had to be all different (this is back in the days when I believed that it was possible to be unique...oh, how innocent was I), so I decided on "mleh". Naturally, a certain one of my friends decided to use it to--admittedly, my indignant reaction every single time he said it didn't help--and then I got all, 'NO MY WORD' and then made the mistake of Googling it.

Horror of horrors! There were...so many links.

In my naivete, I decided to pseudocopyright the word: use it in a place that could clearly be attributed to me from a certain time before, hopefully, a lot of other people. And I wanted to make a point: this, and no other, was the real mleh.

So yeah, that was that. Eventually, I realized that this was a good place to dump conversations I never got to have.


Also: click the ads! True story, there's chocolate inside. (But seriously, maybe it's having to go out into the real world next year or something but I suddenly want to make money off of everything I do.)

The S-word

The first time of this year, after ultimately untrue weather forecasts for this entire week.

Snow.

By this point it's pretty much entirely an odi experience for me (and yes, I'll have more to say once it's actually sticking to the ground): gets in your hair, first real sign of winter, colder blots on an already cold face....

Why didn't I go to Berkeley?

(Yes, I know the answer to that question. I thought I was going to apply there for grad school when I still thought I'd be doing a Ph.D. and...yeah.)

I don't understand why people love it so. Seasons are overrated; if humans need artificial devices to live in these conditions, then shouldn't we take it as a sign to not be here? But yet, somehow, we'll try to live through anything, a bit like cockroaches but less successful....

I hate it, yes. But it doesn't stop me from still trying to catch the snowflakes on my tongue.

My Apathy

Or, why having terms is bad.

Consider Bush; Somalia; 1991. No wonder Obama's keeping a close watch on W's lame duck policies--who would want to be stuck with an absurd fiasco resulting from short-term placations?

But perhaps it's worse when there's a generational transition every four years--say, a high school or college; by fourth year, what's the point in caring what happens to the school/campus? And why should I bother trying to make friends with the irritating, shellshocked first years when the routine's worn thin after three years of watching successive classes figure out something that was glaringly obvious by spring quarter of first year?

In short, I don't care about the college experience any more. I have to have a career and so I'll work hard; and I do enjoy my extracurriculars and the friends I already have--but my interest in altering the status quo is dead like the freshman who was dazzled by the potential for change here.

The problem is a pretty generic one: once the ties loosen and fray, there's no reason to prolong. Better to make a quick snip, stop caring in one go. So much changes in just three years that the campus is no longer the place it was when we came--there's been a move to normalize the student body, and it's working. In general the new and shiny and bland is being embraced at cost of the character of Gothic architecture--but we're no longer in the majority and, because we won't be around to live through the change, our voices, our opinions matter less.

Above all, why should I, or any of us who are graduating, care again? Any improvements now, new friends or new activities or--I don't know what; can't move off-campus at this point--are ephemeral, just like my love of being here.

Your Apathy

Especially in the modern era where the Internet allows one to make every stupid pointless element of life public--and even commentable--it's hard to believe that no one cares. They do not, however. This is true.

(And...cue poetry and boo-hoo story swapping on Myspace and Livejournal.)

I've started looking for jobs in a very perfunctory not-deleting-emails sort of way, and the first thing the career advisor told me to do was remove all the high school stuff from my résumé. Four years of life just gone like that--return to the tabula rasa (well not really; I've done plenty of stuff in college, or maybe at least enough to forget about some of the stuff I've done). Four years that don't matter even though everyone in this country tells you that high school is where all sorts of firsts happen--kiss, drink, driving, job, girl/boyfriend, etc.

The funny thing is that I can remember entering high school and being told the same thing--all those years of elementary and middle school? Those were baby years. This is the real deal, blah blah blah.

And yes, college actually is a real transition--there's enough natural selection going on here to force everyone to take their classes seriously. Even the people who allegedly coast through things--I've seen all of them working hard at one point or another.

Nevertheless, that isn't the point. The point is that 16 years of my life are nothing more than an irrelevant book holding up a piano leg, and for that I am lucky. (Most people, it's 18.)

The world doesn't care about who you were. The world only needs to know who you are now and how useful you will be.

Low Expectations: What's Happened to America?

The media response to Mr. Obama's rapid movement has been, to say the least, absurd.

Once they finally finished with the whole racial business and hours of 'what this means for African-Americans', they moved on to discover that Mr. Obama has already picked a chief-of-staff, is establishing a cabinet, and in general is preparing to actually get straight to work in January amidst a massive economic crisis and some major transitions in both domestic and foreign affairs amidst a suddenly increased Democrat majority in Congress plus the chance to nominate two Supreme Court justices and as the occupation in Iraq becomes increasingly questionable while little flares of Cold War Era potentially reignite.

It's good that news agencies are scrutinizing Mr. Obama's plans, considering that many of his campaign promises were made before the economy tanked. But what's really absurd is the way the media has been shocked at how proactive he's been.

He has a staff! The staff has people like Rahm Emanuel, who isn't afraid to get things done, on it! This shows that he's not only aware of the political climate in DC, but that he's actually planning to keep his campaign promise of change!

Instead of slacking, he's meeting with staff and coordinating with the Bush administration to ensure that he isn't hit by the fallout of any of Bush's lame-duck maneuvers! (Consider 1991 and Somalia. Need I say more?)

It's disgusting that the media is shocked by how prepared Barack Obama is to lead and change. When did it become normal to expect little from a President until halfway through his first term?

I just hope that the high standards Mr. Obama is setting are maintained when future candidates are scrutinized.

Dude, What the Hell.

So...Prop 8 in CA and Amendment 2 in FL...uncool.

Prop 8 I can understand a little more because 'marriage' is really a religious institution and the liberals probably got a little overconfident about the amount of support they'd have and the amount of support the conservatives would lack.... There had better be another proposition in CA to at least allow civil unions. Amendment 2, however, is just disgusting.

Dude, what the hell.

I don't even understand why you feel the need to mess with what other people are doing. Doesn't that go against the whole fundamental 'free will' thing?

Also, most significant of all is the violation of the Constitution's clearly defined separation between church and state. "Marriage" is a religious thing and should be left to individual sects; "civil unions," on the other hand, apply to legal use and partner benefits (taxes, life insurance, etc.). Ideally speaking, all hetero- and homosexual unions would be defined as "civil unions" by the state and would only be considered "marriages" within the religion of the couple; however, this isn't going to happen. Thank you, social conservatives who insist on things like a display of the Ten Commandments outside a courthouse and oppose abortion on moral grounds.

Under a liberal policy, you can live as you want--under a conservative policy, everyone is forced to do what a subset of the population wants.

208 years and counting....

Back during Bush's first term, I remember wondering if the more than 200 year old Democrat party was finally going down for good--and, apart from being extremely happy to be wrong, I'm hoping that Republicans are realizing something about this country.

No longer are the majority of political participants white and Christian. America is not the homogenous WASP factory it used to be--there are way more types of people here with a voice than ever before, and the youth in particular will not wait patiently for our elders to do things for us.

Maybe America is finally starting to look more like a "melting pot" than its usual tossed salad--I wonder.

VICTORY

I'm not normally an all-caps person...can't help it right now though. :D Dem majorities all around and a young, hopeful president in January!

My notes on the victory speech:

Well, an obvious opening about possibility and the "power of our democracy."

He actually named every minority group! :O Also mentioned the "world." Cynicism aside, definitely a strong message of unity--and haha, to not be cynical.

Comparison of mobs: some people cheered for Sen. McCain. There's even applause (a smattering) for Palin! Seriously. This is what all of America, not just the majority of voters, needs to be like.

The bit on the puppy made me laugh. I think that may be a general mood-thing though. And a bit on the family not present--see? Democrats aren't rabid maniacs. Learn, people.

Also David Plouffe is not unsung. He sent out many, many emails.

A word on the unique strategy used to build Obama's campaign. So very interesting to hear about it. And damn straight we rejected that apathy. Some of these descriptions are taking on Biblical proportions...but then, so did the volunteer effort.

It's not about Obama, it's about the country. He knows he has a lot of work ahead of him--I hope he's already planning (and I bet he is). And he's also warning us--"we may not get there in one year, or even in one term." High expectations may harm him a bit.

"YES WE CAN!" the best kind of cheer :D

Again, unity. Again, we still have to work for things--and we need to resist "partisan, pettiness, and immaturity" (ha!). Also he's just pointed out the origins of the Republican Party (helpful, since Lincoln was from Illinois). Humility, unity, healing the divides. It's actually a very very interesting parallel since some of the same issues are a problem. What intrigues me is the timing of the cheers--not as immediate. Are they thinking about it or are they unsure that they want to shake hands with the other side?

"Our stories are singular but our destiny is shared." I love this man's skill at oration, his quotability, his excellent appeal. (That quote was addressed to the world, by the way.)

Obama got some really old people out there...wow. Although I'm not as interested her story, he's using it to remind us of the "heartache and the hope"..."yes we can." A summary of the past century--including the Great Depression (excellent parallel!); Pearl Harbor--tyranny, the saving of a democracy; the civil rights movement; the connection of the world after the dropping of the Iron Curtain. In general, that American can change; overcome. The tone is so pleasantly consistent and a stronger appeal to the future is made--because he can, now. E. pluribus unum, translated for the masses.

He closes with God Bless the United States of America, which is interesting. I never really realized how strong faith is in general even today--most of my friends are disinterested.

:D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We DID it. The future seems like a much safer place!

And now the election season's over. It's nice to have a record of all this stuff--primarily for myself, really, but out there on the almighty Interweb.

P.S. Barack Obama is actually African-American, not "black" in the sense of having been in this country for long enough to no longer share a common culture with Africa but more than long enough to find out how awful humans can be...c'mon, people. Get it right.

EUPHORIA !!!!!!!! :D

10:24 p.m. CST -- Well, McCain's making his concession speech so I'm a little less nervous about hitting the happiness up.... It's a pretty good speech, by the way; and I think those of you who've been lambasting McCain should reconsider a bit. (Also, maybe 2000 McCain will come back out of hiding now that he's not trying to win! He's bringing back the bipartisan and, to shocked outcries and a cheer, saying that it's his failure, not that of his supporters.) McCain is suggesting that he will not run again. Good...he really, really is too old. (I wonder what it would have been like if he'd won in 2000, probably not so bad.) And seriously rally attenders, you do not fucking boo the new President and then call yourself better patriots than Democrats (They're even doing a "USA" chant! Maximum hypocriticism).

Also.... :D !!!!!!!!!

It's sort of funny how Americans are so excited that this victory shows how race is finally a dead issue in America--if it were dead, we wouldn't still be talking about it. Also, the behavior of the mobbier elements at McCain-Palin rallies and the lack of control over the incredibly awful "terrorist" allegations ("it's his ancestry"? Excuse me?? I'm fucking Aryan. That is straight-up Persian ancestry, bitch.) Just YouTube 'McCain Palin mob' and you'll see what I'm talking about), kind of, well, dashes those ideas. (Not to mention the fact that there are, y'know, other minorities out there....)

Also, :D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooo very, very, ecstatic. I'm so glad I could actually do something this time; I was totally sad that I was too young to work on his senatorial campaign....

And another thing: you guys, it was named the "White House" because that's what it was repainted in after being burned by the British during the War of 1812.

Don't Vote.

If, at the 11th hour, you're starting to think about flipping a coin...

your only sources have been secondary and tertiary...

your reasons are superficial...

you're still angry about Hillary...

the issues haven't crossed your mind...

then you need to do a little research before going to the polls.


Vote responsibly.

And yes, the swing staters matter more (still can't believe that someone said they'd "probably" go to the polls in Ohio...), but here's the thing: there are still state issues up for vote, e.g. the gay marriage ban in CA, not to mention all those Senate and House spots that need filling.

So: what are you waiting for?

'Ow you say? Oh yes--Bloody 'ilarious

This is the transcript of a prank call to Palin from a Candian duo pretending to be President Sarkozy of France. "pourrait tuer des bebe phoques, aussi" means "could also kill baby seals" and the French version of the 'Joe the Plumber' song actually says "lipstick on a pig."

Hilarious! But also a little disturbing..."beautiful" families should not be the rejuvenating factor for a country--and this is coming from a woman who actually is getting votes because she is "hot" (I hope some of those hicks realize that the gun-holding bikini picture has been reported as a fake).

Wow.

I finally decided to check out johnmccain.com...WOW. The tone is completely different. It's so openly attacky; Obama's website is sort of floaty and 'Yes, We Can!' everywhere. The focus on the former is rebuttal; the latter, instead, just sort of stands above it all. And I'm talking mostly from the homepage and the most accessible stuff, of course. Didn't want to add to the traffic on the McCain site.

Of course, though, the real main focus is asking for contributions.

Wow.

P.S. This SNL skit is pretty solid. McCain's pretty graceful with the poking fun at and stuff.

Fear

As the election gets closer and closer, it's hard not to feel a sense of impending doom--brought on by all the people out there who are voting for McCain because they think Palin is hot or because Obama is half-African or because abortion somehow matters more than a solid foreign policy.

I'm so tense. I suspect le monde is, too.

For the past 15 years or so, the world has been in a state of flux. There has been no balance of power since the USSR collapsed, and this past decade and a half has seen a fair amount of unilateral action on part of the U.S. that has not been sanctioned by the rest of the world. The question is, how long can we and should we keep this up? The U.S. is not powerful enough to police the world--the recent economic crisis and subsequent fallout has shown that. Fuck, China owns half of the U.S.'s debt (and no, I have no idea what the actual number is but I'm assured it's large).

So: it's time for CHANGE. We need a President who is aware of the opinion of the rest of the world and will take it into account. We need a President who will not force his agenda down people's throats. Remember: you can still choose to keep a baby if abortion is legal, but if abortion is illegal then there is no choice.

Think before you vote, please.

Booklist, November 2007-'08

x When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales of Neurosurgery
x Spring Snow
x The Elephant Vanishes
x The Bridegroom was a Dog
x Haroun and the Sea of Stories
x The Man Who Was Thursday
x Gravity's Rainbow
x Twilight Watch
x Across the Wall
x Equal Rites
x Wyrd Sisters
x Fragile Things
x Hindu Myths
x Lords and Ladies
x Norwegian Wood
x The Truth
x King Solomon and the Golden Fish: Tales from the Sephardic tradition
x Orlando
x The Fifth Elephant
x The Purloined Paperweight
x Night Watch
x After Dark
x The Light Fantastic
x The Colour of Magic
x The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
x Ishmael
x The Watchmen