Countries Negative Influences on the World and Flawed Thinking

The BBC has announced the results of a poll which has Israel, Iran, and the United States as having the most negative influence on the world. "The world" consists of 1,000 people each in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

The poll (PDF of results on the US) shows the world having a 32% positive/49% negative opinion of the US. 68% of respondents said the US military in the Middle East causes more conflicts rather than being a stabilizing force. Other issues upsetting the world are the Iraq War, global warming, and treatment of Guantanamo prisoners.

Several countries are remarkably pro-American: Philippines, Kenya, and Nigeria. Hungary and Poland are moderate in their opinions of the United States.

What can be made of this. In short: the bulk of the world hates (yes, I know the usage and emotion of the word) while select regions favor America. But why?

Well, the select African countries, including Nigeria with a large Muslim population, receive direct aid from the United States and know what life would be like without America. $34 billion dollars a year are given by PRIVATE aid groups in the United States alone. Approximately 25% of all economic activity is done in the United States. Without open trade and interaction laws the countries which need development the most with dive deep into depression. Ever been to the Caribbean and wonder what would happen to these places without tourism dollars?

But why is the United States hated? More people think the US has a worse impact than North Korea, whose monstrosities can be documented by even blogosphere, and China which is in the process of economically colonizing Africa and supporting dictators who oppose liberalization with brute force and genocide. In part it is due to the Soviet's propaganda machine which instead of directly trying to influence events created a self-sustaining Marxist subculture which seeks to destroy the establishment (United States and allied institutions) in the West. This subculture continues to live today even after the fall of communism and the fact that Communism killed more people than the Nazis ever dreamed of. The current war against Islamic Fascism has also lead to anti-Americanism. The pro-Islamists have adopted old socialist critiques of Western culture and tied it to Islamism. To paraphrase Ibn Warraq "Why do they hate us? ...Because they are taught to hate us!"

Catholicgauze tends to be dismayed at poll results like this. Before the US was in the Persian Gulf there were several wars of Iraqi expansion from the Iran-Iraq War to the Gulf War. The only time the US did not intervene afterwards was during the massacring of the Shia after the Gulf War. The US military is also absent in North Africa which is hardly a stable place with Darfur. One can think the US has made mistakes but before one says the US has the most negative impact on the world just think for a second. Where was "the world" during Rwanda, the Balkans, Iraq, Darfur, North Korea, et al?

What are your thoughts, readers?

Playing Odds with Near Earth Objects

Near Earth Objects are asteroids, meteorites, and comets which cross Earth's orbit path and therefore pose a risk of impact. There are currently 4,187 known but almost everyone accepts there a more that have not been detected yet.

To put your worried minds to ease somewhat here is the Current Impact Risks chart. The one that currently has the best chance of hitting Earth is 2000 LG6 with the probability of 0.086% or 1 in 1,160 chance. That means there is a 99.914% chance the asteroid will miss the Earth. Have a nice day and enjoy the skies!

Iraq War Maps

The Fourth Rail has two good Iraq War maps that are relevant as the surge begins to pick up steam.

The first one is an animated map of Iraq showing the three provinces where the Iraqi Army is in full control, provinces where the Iraqi Army is in the lead, and the remaining areas where the US or UK is in control.

The second map is a detailed one of Baghdad showing the ethnic makeup of each neighborhood and where different army units are operating.

Click above map to play

Switzerland invades Liechtenstein

For too long Switzerland worked while Liechtenstein fiddled away time. As Liechtensteiners went along with their daily lives, little did they know that jealous and envious eyes watched and studied them. Then, like a thief in the night, over 100 Swiss soldiers snuck across the border and the rest is history.

Actually, Switzerland's troops accidentally crossed the border and quickly retreated after they noticed their mistake. Both countries are downplaying the incident and this story is being placed in the trivia of history pile.

The incident becomes more hilarious when one knows the history of Switzerland and
Liechtenstein. Switzerland has a serious military program but for centuries practiced neutrality. Switzerland is so neutral that it only recently joined the United Nations. Liechtenstein got rid of its military in 1868 because it cost too much and has relied on Switzerland to provide guidance in foreign affairs. With very libertarian banking laws Liechtenstein is Switzerland's Switzerland.

Representations of Indians and US Army along the Oregon Trail: Nebraska up to the Kearney Complex

The first 180 or so miles in Nebraska are uneventful. Wagon trains passed the Great Plains of Nebraska searching for an oasis in the wilderness. This stop would have full supplies and even mail for some of the emigrants. The stop was Fort Kearny, which today is in the lower-middle of Nebraska. It was a safe harbor in a sea of bad dreams.

To get to Fort Kearny the pioneers had to pass by a vast expanse of territory. After St. Marys they left the Potawatomi reservation and entered the unregulated lands of the Pawnee. Many wagon trains gave offerings for safe passage but there were reported incidents of murder and a raid or two. Tensions were high and the happy days of Kansas were behind as the realism of a 2,000 mile trek began to settle in the minds of emigrants.

Due to the Pawnee's semi-nomadic nature there were no common site for meetings and other forms of interaction. Partly because of this there are no makers or monuments relating to local Indians or anything else dealing with the Oregon Trail from Rock Creek Station to Fort Kearney. There are roadside markers at the site of Pony Express stations but the only times Indians are mentioned are when a band attacked or harassed a station.

The first stop, Rock Creek Station, is dedicated to life along the trail but does not deal with Indians or Army. However, the station began operations in the late 1850s and the Indian issue was for the most part moot in that region by then.

Flash forward many miles and one reaches the Kearney Complex of Fort Kearny and Great Platte River Road Archway Monument.

The fort was named after Stephen Kearny and opened 1848. The fort served as a center of operations for dragoons and calvary, a supply post for Oregon/California/Mormon migrants, and a trading post for Pawnee and even Sioux Indians. In 1864 there was heightened tensions leading to conflict in the area but the era of the classical Oregon Trail was over by then.

The fort today is beautiful. A gift store/information center is located in the museum while a few recreated buildings like a blacksmith shop and a wooden stockade occupy the grounds. The mueusm focuses mostly on the daily life of a solider and officer. The idealized hero on the threshold of a new frontier is replaced by the average man just trying to do a job. There is a section of the museum which focuses on the Pawnee scouts who aided the US Army against their mutual rival, the Sioux.

After Fort Kearny one visits Kearney, Nebraska's great monument to fiscal waste known as the Great Platte River Road Archway. For eight well-spent dollars one is taken on a multimedia tour of the Great Platte River "road." About 1/2 of all exhibits deal with the Oregon/California/Mormon trail while the other half deals with the Pony Express, transcontinental railroad, Lincoln Highway, and interstate system.

The Archway is a nice place for people who know little of what the trails were like. I was quite impressed by its presentation. There were some oddities however. Fort Kearny is the start of the museum and is seen as the last stop of civilization rather than an outpost. No hint is given of army patrols which sometimes aided the wagon trains. Also, Indians are given their fare mention but are separate from interactions with emigrants. Finally, all Indians are presented as the same in the sense they lost the West. However, groups like the Potawatomi never had the west and groups like the Pawnee came out much better than tribes like the Sioux.

Kearney is now behind us. Ahead is another long stretch of unmarked space until Ash Hollow.

Blizzard

Well, I am now with family and learning to say goodbye. We are focusing on the good times we all had with dad. The community outpouring has been stunning. However, due to blizzard conditions we will be unable to attend my father's viewing. The funeral is tomorrow.

I just wish to thank everyone who has helped in this time of my life. To my friends back at school and to my blog readers. Thank you.

The Underground Seas

A huge new underground ocean has been discovered (hat tip: Very Spatial), but it is actually more of an aquifer than ocean. The ocean lies about 400 to 800 miles below the surface of eastern Asia. While it is located well into the mantle, the ocean does play a moderating effect on some of the seismic activity in the area.

While some think of underground seas when considering the moon's of Jupiter there are many on earth. It has been estimated that there are over 145 lakes underneath Antarctica's snows. America has The Lost Sea which is a 13 acre cave system completely filled with water.

The idea of an underground body of water is not new. Many ancient mythologies like Egyptians and Greeks had seas and rivers below the surface. Even the drugged out Samuel Coleridge dreamt of a sunless sea in his "Kubla Khan" poem. However, one must remember the "ocean" is really just wet rocks before one makes plan to buy a submarine.