Chris Barna's Weblog Politics, Culture, Occasional Musings on Life.

At first glance, Naomi Klein’s new book, The Shock Doctrine, appears to be a gigantic conspiracy theory. The premise is that, similar to the electroshock ‘therapy’ that was experimented with during the 20th century that attempted to make people regress so their personalities could be rewritten, multi-national corporations, the IMF and neoliberal economists are attempting to rewrite certain countries so they can exploit them financially. It certainly is a lofty hypothesis but one that Klein backs up very well.

From the acknowledgments I found out that the book was originally supposed to be about Iraq. This makes sense because the section about Iraq was about three times longer than any other section and is where she provides the bulk of her evidence. She takes the reader through each step of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and connects it to a scientist testing shock therapy on a subject.

One part that struck me about that was the attempted “erasure” of Iraqi culture that happened just after shock and awe. Many people remember hearing or reading in the news about the widespread looting that happened to all of the museums in Baghdad. What Klein contends is that this could have been stopped if commanders really wanted it to but was allowed to go on because it was a systematic destruction of everything and anything of note from Iraq’s long history thus creating a blank slate. I’m not sure that it was entirely on purpose that the organizers of the war did not guard priceless artifacts but was rather a latent function of the invasion. Looters saw and opportunity and took it while the troops on the ground didn’t see any importance in protecting objects they knew nothing about.

At times I found myself cheering for Klein’s socialist message and examples but then I had to step back and look at the larger picture. Besides nationalizing Venezuela’s oil companies and bringing much needed revenue and jobs to South American citizens, President Hugo Chavez also imprisons or fires political critics from those same companies that he created, the same thing Klein was speaking against when it came to remaking the continent financially in the later 20th century.

Overall, I would recommend the book, not as a bible like No Logo is, but more as food for thought when it comes to looking at the world’s dynamics. Klein takes a different approach than that which is normally seen in current affairs books and she pulls it off quite well.

Before I start, I would like to state that my thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the fires in Southern California this weekend. I cannot imagine what it would be like to abandon everything I’ve ever owned and flee for my life because of a natural disaster.

Having that out of the way, I would like to make a prediction. Reports are coming in about the damage of the Haris Fire in the Potrero community of San Diego but we can be certain of one thing–that military contractor Blackwater will come in to help rebuild what was lost. Blackwater has trying to get permits to build a training facility in the South Eastern community for at least the last year and this disaster will do nothing but help their bid.

There is really no downside to this from Blackwater’s perspective. The company will exercise its “corporate responsibility” by going into the fire ravaged community of Potrero to help its (soon to be) neighbors. They then use the contacts they created in the community to help gain support for creating the training facility. Blackwater will have put so much time and money into Potrero that it will be hard for them to say no.

Rumor has it, the best way to get people to read a blog entry these days is to write about Ron Paul. If you read digg or reddit, you might be pretty much convinced that this Republican presidential candidate is the reincarnation of Jesus. Similarly, you might also have noticed how the “positive” articles on any other presidential candidate have essentially disappeared. Accusations are being thrown but many are convinced that the “Paulites” have had something to do with the shift in attention.

With all of this good publicity from blogs and social news sites, it is difficult for some of his supporters to understand why mainstream media is “purposefully” ignoring Congressman Paul. Paulite conspiracy theorists accuse the mainstream media of covering up his allegedly successful campaign. I realized the craze had gotten to San Diego on monday when I noticed cardboard signs posted around the city that said “Google Ron Paul” in sloppy permanent marker. The signs were removed by the time I went home but the damage was done and it got me thinking more about some of Paul’s more radical positions.

• Pulling out of the United Nations and World Trade Organization – Simply because the United States doesn’t cooperate with these organizations doesn’t mean we should condemn them as a complete failure. Paul says that they are a threat to American sovereignty but in this time of globalization, we need cooperation, not isolation.
• Gun Control – Paul is staunchly against gun control. In April, he politicized the shootings at Virginia Tech and argued that “prohibiting guns on campus made the Virginia Tech students less safe, not more.” He also said that it didn’t matter “how many guns the police had.” He is insinuating that students could have stopped the shootings with their concealed weapons and that seems ludicrous to me.
• State Power – This is the issue that I am most uncomfortable about and likewise the least informed about. From what I’ve read, Congressman Paul wants to cut many federal programs and give the power to either individual states or private companies. This would further increase the income inequality that currently occurs in the United States. The states with more wealth, like California or New York, would be able to pay for better social services while poorer states wouldn’t be able to afford this and have to settle for less.

For the casual, sidewalk pamphlet informed voter, I have created a wonderful flyer that gives Congressman Paul’s positions on more than just the “good” issues. Thank you for listening and a little bit of an advanced welcome to the Ron Paul supporters who will inevitably be refuting my positions.

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