undeniable

to paraphrase jon stewart, welcome to world war three.

for reasons passing understanding [read: possibly related to money], rick salutin's excellent article in the globe and mail cannot be found online in its entirety. here's a teaser, to get you started. this article alone is worth the buck you might have to spend on today's paper. trust me on this one.

peruse your newspaper -- ow!
by rick salutin
friday, july 14, 2006

so this is where the "war on terror" has got us. look through your morning paper: gaza, lebanon, iraq, iran, afghanistan, mumbai. it's "crisis overload," squeal the overstimulated tv anchors. how did it happen? i'd say it's a result of treating 9/11 as a supreme menace on its own, rather than largely determined by other factors. i guess that places me among the "root-causes people," a term implying lack of toughness, like vegan or pacifist.

for the record, i believe in treating symptoms, not just causes. but treating a symptom while ignoring its cause is benighted. and pouring resources into treating a symptom while exacerbating its cause(s) -- that is lunatic.

salutin goes on to explain: "i'm hyperventilating because the obsessive focus on terror isn't just a waste of money or a form of dishonesty. it also increases the incidence of terror."

so so worth the read.

p.s. last night, stephen colbert said, "it's true because it rhymes." i'm pretty sure i get royalties.