The Dangling Carrot

"Police" in Anaheim / Source: OCWeekly

Well, I guess there is going to be some "economic headwinds" over the next few months. Thanks for the heads up, Obama. Four years into the financial crisis, trillions in easing, and now there is going to be some headwinds - but just for a few more months right? Just one more summit, one more bailout, and a few more months and prosperity is just around the corner. Just wait for it, and while you're waiting why don't you plop down in front of your T.V. eating the official Olympic sponsored fast food and cola products and enjoy as you watch people's dreams and ambitions turned into the ultimate of all fascist marketing machines.

If you're not watching the Olympics, you might be catching some of the latest chatter over Syria. War propaganda is everywhere.

Finally, the failures of all diplomatic efforts have forced Western powers, along with Turkey and the Arab League (AL), to seek alternate solutions outside the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by funneling greater supplies and more sophisticated weaponry, communications gear, intelligence and other necessary provisions to rebel forces. Regardless of how important these measures are in aiding the rebels, they unfortunately remain insufficient to dramatically tip the balance in favor of the opposition and ensure the speedy demise of the Assad regime.

Juicy stuff, but it gets better:

It should be noted that on more than one occasion, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated that Russia is not wedded to President Assad and would not object to a solution to end the crisis under unspecified circumstances. The prospect, if not the certainty, of a full-fledge civil war (the Red Cross has already declared the crisis as civil war), may now have created the circumstances for the U.S. and Russia to forge a strategy to force Assad out by supporting the SNC efforts toward the same objective.

Who are the SNC? Well, who cares, right? It's a "civil war" in which our "only" option was to funnel the rebels high tech weaponry. So, the violence is so bad that our only choice was to apparently "even the odds"? I'm sure this has nothing to do with Syria and Iran being allies. I'm sure that Syria isn't some sort of proxy war between the west and eastern powers. Nope, this has "civil war" written all over it, and by-golly-gee those are "rebels" I tell ya! Rebels, as we all know, are nothing like terrorists right? Those two words have absolutely nothing to do with whether you are for or against the terrori.. err sorry, "rebellious" acts.

Oh right, the Olympics. So far I have mostly enjoyed the bicycling events but I'm reserving my take as there is still plenty of time for even crazier events to take place. Good thing G4S private security is in charge, am-I-right? Corporate brand names can rest easy knowing they're safe.

Hope is change. (click to enlarge)

Of course absent from your local media is anything detailed about the T.P.P. negotiations. Out of sight, out of mind, and when the results appear in your face you'll probably not even be aware of which secretive "trade" agreement or which piece of our national sovereignty was given away to allow it to happen. We're real close though, just a few months and these "headwinds" will be long gone. All that's needed is a little more ho-ing and humming, a little interest rate manipulation here, a little oil manipulation there and it will all be O.K. Hope is change, change is hope.



As the economic carrots of greater prosperity and recovery are dangled in front of the worlds face, the dangling carrots of "safety and security" are quietly implemented. A domestic police state is being implemented at light-speed and with barely a whisper of opposition. The purpose of this security state is not to protect the people, but to protect corporate assets from the people.

You must differentiate between real police and this new security state. These new enforcers are not the police we've come to respect in western society. You've heard of 3P? Well this is 4P. Public-Private-Partnership-Policing and it's spreading. Summit, after event, after bailout, no solution in sight - no policies to be passed but in this time an incredible amount of "national security" (read: continuity of government) policies have been enacted. The world right now is so focused on the dangling carrots we're being promised we can't see the salad surprise waiting for us when we finally do reach prosperity.

Numerous divisive issues and rhetoric is out right now for those seeking dangling carrots to focus on. The recent battle between B.C. and Alberta over the Northern Gateway pipeline is a great example of this. Ridiculous babble over "have" and "have-not" provinces just serves to fuel the fire. Albertans really have been putting me to shame with this line of reasoning. I've seen so many Albertans refer to B.C. as a "have not" province while trying to use their resources. Guess what, Albertans? B.C. has a coast and we don't. They have, we don't. Think about it.

In the end, it's moot anyway as exporting oil to China so we can take the USD off their hands they're trying to quietly get rid of isn't exactly in any Canadians' best interest. As major powers gear for an Iranian war you can bet energy can only become more precious with time and volatility. I suspect that despite our alliance and trade agreements with China that Canada desperately wants an Iranian war to put more upward pressure on oil prices so we can get the "Return on Exploitation" we think we really deserve, affordability for Canadians be damned. We'll catch that dangling carrot. We'll give China the oil that Canadian companies can't even continue affording to produce, hell we'll give them the companies too as economic recovery is surely behind the next set of global headwinds, it's just a few months away, just wait and in the meantime: enjoy the show.

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Richard Fantin is a self-taught software developer who has mostly throughout his career focused on financial applications and high frequency trading. He currently works for CenturyLink

Nazayh Zanidean is a Project Coordinator for a mid-sized construction contractor in Calgary, Alberta. He enjoys writing as a hobby on topics that include foreign policy, international human rights, security and systemic media bias.