3 Gap Countries:
1. Djibouti
2. Cambodia
3. Rwanda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5OCoxNjlhQ

Halarious...check it out.

Public View

So I've been sitting at the Daily Grind for a couple of hours and as I was sitting here I realized something: I have become one of "those" people. You know, the one that sits there and acts like they are working on something, but really they are listening to everything and everyone that is speaking...

Well, tonight it paid off, at least in terms of Global Peace and Conflict...

I was sitting here enjoying my turkey sandwhich when an older couple sat down at the table beside me. The T.V. happened to be on CNN, which seemed to spur a conversation between the people.

Now I didn't catch the entire conversation, and I didn't exactly get their full positions, but what I did hear were two people talking about issues such as Iraq, 9/11, George W. Bush, Nancy Pullosi, and so on....

Well even though I don't know their stance, It struck me as interesting to hear people talking about the issues. Generally, now days, most people just don't like to talk about it...so I guess it gave me a little hope that there are some people that care about the issues. I don't know if I am more aware of things now do to this class or what. But I think I can appreciate that....

Klare's "New" Book

In Klare's new book, "Blood for Oil", he takes a post 9/11 stance on his original thoughts brought about in his book, "Resource Wars". Oddly enough, the ideas that "Blood for Oil" present are very much the same as its pre-9/11 counterpart. In "Resource Wars", Klare discusses numerous examples of resources, wars, conflicts, and reasons why resources (such as oil) will play key roles in our future. Now, after 9/11, he responds with what I feel is an "I told you so" attitude, or maybe that is just how I perceive it. He is now able to go in depth into the history and recent events in accordance with the attacks on 9/11 and our retaliation against in relationship to our need for oil. I found the discussion of the history the U.S. has with oil dependence. He brought up a key factor that I believe we discussed in class dealing with the Saudi royal family. It's interesting to see the perspective of how the dependence on oil came about, starting with our decline in oil resources and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's meeting and agreement with the Saudi royal family, which has been upheld through every Presidency since. Which brings us to this Presidency, in which Dick Cheney has historic ties to Saudi Arabia. In general, Klare's main focus in this book and the things that struck him the most werer the degree of dependence of our society on cheap, abundant oil, as well as how priveledged we were with a very large oil supply, and until that oil supply started to deplete, we weren't concerned. What really strikes me about this, is that it becomes very apparent that we are unable to function properly when our economy is threatened. Instead of thinking in terms of alternatives, we think in terms of attacking, and until we can get past this idea, and I feel this is what Klare is saying, war's and conflicts will be prevelant for the rest of our lives...