America - Terror Strikes Again

I have sworn off politics but I still pay attention to what's going on in the world, and things are not good. Let's go step by step.

In Turkey, there was a coup attempt, maybe. Oh, something definitely happened but, things are not always what they seem. Turkey, by all accounts, was, for a long time, a nice country. It was a very progressive Moslem nation, tolerant, prosperous and a great place to visit. Well, things change and there has been growing tension in Turkey between the modernists and the Islamic extremists. In addition, Turkey is caught in the troubles of Iraq and Syria. They have been gracious in accepting huge numbers of refugees but, that causes strain on both resources and patience. In addition, they have a long running dispute with the Kurds. We, the USA, are backing and arming the Kurds in their fight against ISIS. That creates more problems for Turkey as they are sure, quite rightfully so, that the Kurds will use those weapons against them. They already have. In addition, Turkey is trying to balance their relationship with the USA with their relationship to an increasingly powerful and active Russia. I do not blame Russia in the least since the USA, as part of NATO, is putting missiles near their borders and has imposed damaging economic sanctions on them. So, maybe, and I really don't know, Turkey's leaders staged a fake coup to give them a reason to round up dangerous enemies of the state. If so, I can't fault them. Extreme events sometimes call for extreme measures. The real puzzler is the American cleric they say is behind the coup. We do have a history of subverting governments we have problems with and maybe the Turks have a good case. Again, I don't know. But, I do know, we have precious few allies left in the world and we should watch our step, lest we lose another friend.

Then, we move to Nice. I have seen vague statements on the internet describing this as, yes, a false flag operation, a scam pulled by a government to put the blame on an enemy. I do not believe this for a moment. This was a senseless slaughter of innocent lives by another of the seemingly endless parade of  monsters killing in the name of God. We are plagued with these lunatics and this is what you get when you insist on viewing God as a wrathful, vengeful being, bent on having all the world bow to his whims. This is a dementia, a projection of personal anger and jealousy and hatred  onto the world, having nothing to do with the Creator. All of this insanity is built into age old belief systems and I have no idea when it will end or how to stop it. It is a nightmare and I cannot imagine how the people of France and the rest of Europe are dealing with it.

Now, I turn my attention homeward. We have had 2 incidents of cop killings. Let me say unequivocally that this must stop. But, as always, things go deeper. First of all, there have been a goodly number of events in recent years of police over reaction ending in the death of people who did not deserve to die. If threatened, the police may and should use deadly force but, here and there, they have killed people who, while possibly guilty of a crime, were not a danger to the arresting officers. A problem? Yes. Criminal? Likely. But, not life threatening. The police must get a grip on their behavior. If it takes higher wages to get a better bunch of cops, then communities will have to raise the money. Need more police? Raise the money. It may cost a few extra tax dollars but, if you are not willing to pay, then this madness will get worse. As far as the shooters go, something smelly is afoot. In both cases, ex-soldiers came from other cities to shoot cops. They had firm plans. Did they act alone? Investigators are quietly, very quietly, saying that they don't know. If I had to  bet, I would say no, they were not alone and something big is unfolding. Who are the accomplices? I will not speculate but this is not a new phenomenon. Look up the Zebra killing of the late 1960s in San Francisco. These were never completely solved but, it seems clear that some of those active had some ties to some shadowy government operatives. Remember, this is the time of Operation Chaos (the CIA)  and COINTELPRO (the FBI). No, I am not blaming any government agency but, here and there, we have proof that a few renegade agents went way overboard and things got out of hand. Are these shooting an example of that? I have no idea but I have learned that such things do happen. Again let me say, I am not saying that this is government policy. I am saying that there are extreme elements in any organizations that run amok. Things get out of hand and tragedy results.

Anyway, don't let any of this get you down. At some point, the light will shine again and the streets will be safe for us common folks. When? God knows and He hasn't told me. Hang in there. And remember the words of cartoonist R. Crumb's hippy guru Mr. Natural. "Just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean someone's not out to get you."