Subject: Re: [drugwar] (OT really) Re: War is the life blood of the State . Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 22:26:13 -0400 To: From: Bob Armstrong On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 09:23:38 -0700 (PDT), Libby wrote: >=A0heh, heh, coming out blazing eh Bob. Welcome aboard. > >=A0I don't think this is entirely OT Preston, in that I >=A0believe the big corporations are as much responsible >=A0for the WOSD as the government. At most , only a few even give a damn . Are the big corporations also the motivators of the burgeoning war on tobacco ? >=A0When I deride corporate influence on policy, I'm not >=A0talking about some small guy doing 10 million a year >=A0in trade who probably worked very hard to get where he >=A0did. And the big ones didn't ? > I'm talking about multinationals who run the >=A0government from K Street. As Preston points out, it's >=A0a revolving door for these players and our legislation >=A0is written to benefit them and no longer re(f)lects the >=A0will of the people. When you boil all decisions down to 2 choices and try to apply those decisions backed by force , elaborated by megabytes of regulations to apply to everybody's situations , you cannot possibly reflect the "will of the people" . All sorts of groups , not just large scale enterprises , converge on WDC to by Force in their favor . It is the market in Force . > If you don't think it's possible >=A0that we went to Iraq because these corps had all these >=A0bombs in inventory and needed a place to use them, I >=A0think it is. I strongly believe that the Military ( and its industrial suppliers ) itch like hell to try out every new toy and strategy they create . Watching the Military ( and their media sycophants ) gloat over the videos of their weapons of precise destruction is disgusting . The blood lust of the apparent majority of our fellow citizens has been appaling . But war-making seems to get presidents votes . The war industry may be gung-ho facilitators , But Bush did what Bush wanted to do - avenge his family's honor . > Dow has a lot of herbicide on it's hands >=A0and we suddenly become hell-bent on defoliating the >=A0tropical rainforest? Dow's total agricultural chemical division earned $154M on $2.7B sales , up some from several years of decline , out of total sales of $27.6B for all divisions in 2002 . Herbicides seem to be a smaller portion that insecticides . So while important , herbicides are only perhaps .05 of their total business . > Voila, policy based on product=A0inventory. > The corporate thugs get their money and if >=A0a few poor folk die in the process, well it's the >=A0price of doing business. Here you totally lose me . How does Dow force anything on anybody ? They must have customers . The vast majority of their agricultural chemicals are used for just that - to increase food production . Without the advances in agricultural productivity - which has been incredible over our lifetime , the mass famines and starvation of the past would have continued . One hell of a lot of poor folk are Alive because of these technologies . The efficiency in agriculture in this country has actually allowed marginal lands to be returned to their natural state . If some States , eg , Brazil , are still clearing some of their lands , take it up with them . Their land is their resource and if they are being terminally stupid in their stewardship of it , for sure tell them not to listen to Dow or whoever's salesmen . >=A0I find a lot in the Libertarian view that I agree with >=A0and I'm all for personal responsibility and freedom >=A0and I have nothing against capitalism and free market >=A0economy. I think however the multinationals are >=A0destroying the free market by suppressing competition, >=A0not building it and the consumer doesn't really have >=A0that much choice if every product on the shelf can be >=A0traced back to the same three parent corporations. As opposed to the Government duopoly where your choices are as distinct as Coke and Pepsi . Actually , I can't think of any good other than those with essentially geographical monopolies like Verizon or Con-Ed where there is not a multiplicity of choices . Perhaps American media comes the closest - but even that is far less so than before cable . >=A0cheers, >=A0Libby Likewise . I think we've laid out "where we're coming from" pretty thoroughly now , and can stay more OT going forward . The battle is for Freedom to own your own body . And that is a battle with the State ; everything else is off target . --=A0 Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864 2003/07/13 9:14:02 PM