Playing Chicken
Today the Arctic summer ice melt reached is lowest point in history, confirming in triplicate that humans are profoundly altering the planets climatic systems, bringing almost certain doom to many species, and perhaps eventually us.
Riots erupted across the world, as people burned corporate fast food outlets and sacked the embassies of the United States and other global powers.
Sadly, these two facts are unrelated.�Angry mobs aren't rising up against corporatism, malbouffe, or western hegemony laying waste to the earth.
No, they are incensed by an awful scourge of a Youtube "film" they have never seen (Youtube has blocked it in most sensitive countries, and it would haraam to view it anyway). Innocence of Muslims might even be a comedy, or a pro-Islam film disguised as a anti-Islam, because nobody could be convinced of anything by this dubious piece of work. It fails to reach the sophistication of a grade-school theatre production, drenched in silly accents, digitally superimposed exotic backgrounds and surrealist non-sequitors, here is an example. Although evidence indicates the clip was made by either christian or jewish fundamentalists. the person who most benefits is a certain mormon fundamentalist running for US president. Gangs of arabs trampling old glory and murdering a US ambassador make a convenient told-you-so moment for the American right.
Let's hope this incident doesn't prove decisive in the elections, as the US is the lynchpin of any global climate deal. Obama's policies may be disappointingly tepid, but with 4 to 8 years of Romney we can be damn sure nothing will be done. Poorly timed riots over a laughable Youtube clip are no laughing matter right now. As we stand on the precipice we should ask a�question of all religious fundamentalists- if your god built this place for us, what kind of gratitude do you show him by despoiling it?
