Update, and World War III

So, foremost let me update everyone on whats been going on. Foremost let me apologize for the careless disregard for updates over the past week. I'm tempted to use the excuse that time has been something of a precious commodity, though I believe that would be a partial lie.

The semester is in full swing here at RPI and it looks to be quite an interesting albeit demanding time. Over the past weekend I've engaged in several trips involving the campus Outing club, and if I can manage I'll post pictures of the trip. The trips involved exploring two nearby caves in the Capital region of New York state. For my first time caving I must say it was a rather exciting time. I look forward to doing it again. This weekend I shall (hopefully) be attending a nice hike in the Catskills region, and then towards the end of the month going on a weekend excursion to Lake George.

However, I digress. I do not want to sit here prattling on about the going-ons of my life. I'll keep you updated slightly on the progress of my courses and research this semester if time allows and seems relevant to share.

So I'm still looking for a direction for Astral Mindscapes. While it would probably be wiser for me to focus my discussion on a narrow subject field, for those of you who know me personally should know, I do not like the restrictions imposed of subjecting my writings to a single subject field. At the current time I have nothing to write of involving what one may associate with a title such as "Astral Mindscapes", however, my delvings into Eastern Philosophies might change that shortly.

Today I want to discuss the current state of affairs of our political machine. Now, I realize how touchy of a subject politics is, not to mention how widely discussed it is. I came across an interesting article entitled Election 2006 & World War III which discusses some of the implications of the current conflict in the Middle East, specifically the US involvement in Iraq. Make no mistake, its clear that the invasion of Iraq is a blunder. The current administration lied to the American people, mislead them with malicious intentions, and have now placed them in a compromising situation which has only escalated the current hostilities expressed against Americans. Where once Americans were viewed in many places with a certain degree of high regard, we find ourselves descending into a chasm of dichotomy with the rest of the world.

According to Robert Parry's article, Bush seems not only content on eliminating the terrorist presence in Iraq and the Middle East, targetting organizations such as Hezbollah in addition to al-Qaeda, but also addressing the issue of extremist Shiites. Both of these extremism mentalities, according to Bush, pose a grave threat to the stability of our country. The underlying issue as suggested by Parry is that Bush is ultimately declaring war against Islam. Yes folks, as we progress further and further on what I can only deem to be a path of further isolation from the rest of the world, we are pushing ourselves into yet another Crusade. It seems we are on the edge of the third World War. Quite frankly, the odds don't seem in our favor.

I find it insulting, at times, to be labeled as an American when such ignorance is present towards our Arab brethren. Because, at the very core of it, I believe that we each our but siblings to one another. Perpetuating this stereotypical fundamentalist Christian viewpoint and making America appear as some rightous tool of "God" completely undermines what the ultimate goal of this country should be. Is it the case that when the right view and the right system comes along, people will flock and naturally accept it? If this is the case, we're far from even remotely achieving that.

I urge you to read this article, it does have some interesting features to it. And if time permits I'll discuss more related issues, but as it stands I have to stop here for now.