Hi...
A couple things...
In response to IBM and the punchcard system...
It was a German-American working for IBM in the US that created the punchcard system for computing the US census, that the product was sought and sold within Germany by the German branch of IBM would be more correct in portraying the true facts of the nature. If anything all that proves is that greed for world market dominance in the computing industry overtook ethical and moral principles. And of course the hindsight ability to understand the true nature of free enterprise and the shortcomings that come with improper monitoring of corporations in the 30's. Capitalism is not without its faults, but what style of economic basis and government style is?
What is ironic to me is that through all of the finger pointing, blame and fault finding, indignant opinions for leadership of the the US and its policies, I don't see anyone pointing out the ethical shortcomings of teaching children how to hate, dictators that fill mass gravesites with their own people, slaughtering and butchering women because they are only property, enslaving women until they are worth nothing more than killing at birth, carbombing extremists, funamentalist regimes, genocidal civil wars, or the like with the same finger.
Atrocities being present everywhere in the world, caused by all types, races, nationalities, agendas, politcal, religious, and vengence seekers alike, explain how peacefulness is going to cut through the minds of those that are driven on pure hate, ignorance, fear, and indignation for anyone, anything that doesn't comply with their views.
Ancient history has proven much of the Middle East to have been nothing but a constant battle ground since before Christ was even a twinkle in God's eye, Moses ever thought of leading an Exodus, or Muhommad stopped invading other territories long enough to hear Allah tell him he was the chosen prophet of a new faith...so as far as history repeating itsself...yeah sure, over and over and over again. World peace and those that seek it by peaceful manner please tell me how you can do so and cut through thousands of years of tribal, territorial, and religious wars. Ghandi worked but that was a man who had respect of many in a nation for his religious and philosophical teachings...the man lived and taught by example and it took nearly lifetimes worth of work for him to effect a change...its not the same world it was then. Find me one person who is willing to go to the extremes on the behalf of saving a nation and its people the way Ghandi did...especially a religious leader with that kind of strength to change and cause to bring its people to make the stand against the oppresive regime. Layout for me a plan of peacefully bringing the Middle East and all the fundamental extremists, Muslim, Jewish Orthodox, and Christian fundies with differing ways of life, religious tendencies, and feelings of land and God given birthrights into peaceful compliance.
Who can say for sure they know the agenda of each and every national leader...who has the intelligence to read the intentions of any other nation and read what interests are really being served. If half of the Middle Eastern regimes, Islamic extremists groups and some of the African nations were under the same microscope as the US how wide open would the eyes of awareness for atrocity become? Blinders and tunnel vision are convenient fault finders and peacekeepers in the realm of worldly affairs when they never change their focus or direction.
So I pose this question to everyone who has an opinion how should the US be run... If you had the power of the US nation and had your nation and its people, and foreign politics, national leaders and world interests to answer to, how would you handle running the US? Who's interests do you serve first and why? Remember you have the power to affect changes but you also have to remain viable, secure and productive, answer to the scrutiny of the world views and opinions, needs, and wishes for aid in spite of weakening your ability to assure those in your own country that the cost of your involvement is worth their time going to work to pay the taxes that fund the aid, whether it be monitarily, militarily, or volunteer labor and support. Remember your under every other nations microscope...you can't even so much pee wrong for having 10 other nations presses reporting on the style at which you relieve yourself..."Does he Sit or Stand" tops the news...
Now when you go about organizing your own life how much of your intersts do you protect on a daily basis in the name of survival for your family, your friends, your neighbors, your community, your country, the world. What designates your priorital order in your personal life...does the world peace fund get a portion of your money at the end of the day?
My point being how much of your philosophy for conducting world affairs mirror your own life's and how much of it do you actually live by.
Sorry if this seems inappropriate but I'm trying to understand how the balance is weighted and why.
Em Hotep...
S.V.
Principles only mean something if you stand by them when its inconvenient.
--The Contender