The Censor Strikes Back

The peace loving government of the People's Republic of China has apparently chosen a new enemy, sci fi.
Per the latest guidelines sent out March 31 plots that contain elements of

fantasy, time-travel, random compilations of mythical stories, bizarre plots, absurd techniques, even propagating feudal superstitions, fatalism and reincarnation, ambiguous moral lessons, and a lack of positive thinking. 

are no longer allowed.
This CNN article mostly focuses on time travel, and a few of the big movies that can no longer be shown in freedom loving China. But let's really think about how far this censorship is going.
Fantasy, well that eliminates most sci fi right there, and anything like Lord of The Rings with mythical creatures. Its honestly a very broad term. A good chunk of tv, movies, and books use some form of fantasy. Look at how huge Harry Potter and Twilight are. Magic and Vampires are definitely within the boundaries of fantasy. And of course Star Wars, the ability to control the force is a fantasy power, so no Jedi or Sith allowed. Not to mention dragons, which are extremely tied up witin Chinese identity.
Time Travel has been a part of society since at least the publishing of The Time Traveller. List of tv, movies, and books that use the theory as fact for their basis is quite long. Temporal travel has become a favourite of the Star Trek series. Terminator is based on it. 7 Days, a show I used to enjoy when it was on the air, couldn't have happened without it. And one of my favourite shows of all time Stargate SG1 used it more than a few times, as did its progeny Stargate Atlantis.
But even better are phrases like "bizarre plots", "absurd techniques", "ambiguous moral lessons", and "a lack of positive thinking". Those are so vague and all encompassing anything at anytime could be banned just because a censor felt like it. Even kids shows have all of those. Adult drama's all the more so. We as humans enjoy twists in our stories. And whilst we may really want the happy ending, we are totally accepting when evil does win a bit or someone dies. As much as we enjoy our fiction, it never works without reality being entwined with it.
Worst of all is the real target. Its not a goal of keeping people from enjoying themselves. The real target here is imagination. If people can no longer imagine a world where Marty McFly can travel Back to The Future; or a land where men, orcs, dwarfs, elves, hobbits, and wizards fight in a war over a single ring; or force users with lightsabers duel over the fate of a galaxy far far away; then might not they lose the ability to imagine themselves as free men?

As Americans this should be more than a joking matter. This is a truly serious issue. Our government already censors what we can watch, hear, and read. Lately they have been aiming at controlling the internet as well. Do you really think that those who want that control, wouldn't love to make it so all we could see, hear, and feel was puppies, rainbows, and unicorns?
We need to pay attention now, and make sure our government never gets close to limiting us so much.

(This article can also be found on Landmark Report

Some Thoughts on The World's Unrest Pt. 1

Earlier this year we saw Egypt head toward civil war, as a loud number of its citizenry spoke up for freedom from their dictator, Mubarak. World governments called for him to step down and eventually he did so.
We're still waiting to see if this will actually avoid the civil war so many feared. And who will end up in charge of the country.

Then during March world opinion came crashing down on Libyan dictator Qaddafi. He, his forces, and especially his one son were very clearly suppressing a movement towards a free Libya, even going as far as killing their own citizens.
Actions such as those are reprehensible at best and the world, including the United States, NATO, the UN, and the Arab League, decided enough was enough. A no fly zone was established, with Libya's air force and air defenses smashed. Allied troops were even used to destroy groups of tanks heading to fight the rebels.
Already the world seems content to sit and pat itself on the back for aiding these poor rebels.
Even the world intercession isn't solving the issues. Libyans are still killing Libyans. Qaddafi may still win this civil war.
We also have the question of who are the rebels. Will we end up with someone even worse in power?
What most people missed was that atrocities against Libyans, by their government wasn't exactly a new thing. Yet for various reasons, all the sudden it became the fore front.

Yet at the same time, these same world governments that suddenly begin worrying about the Libyan people, are ignoring other peoples around the world.
Most, if not all, of us remember the mass rallies by the Green Movement in Iran. These people too were being killed for wanting freedom. Yet governments took no action, or if they did they threw no more than words that, with the inaction that followed them, were shown to mean nothing. During this same time as the fights in Libya, the Iranians have been continuing their struggle, with little to no media attention.
And whilst all that is going on, let's not forget that people in other countries are being massacred for their own protests against dictators. People every day are being killed because they desire freedom. Not just in Libya or Egypt, but in countries around the world.
For years we've heard of "Save Dar-fur". Unknown thousands have been killed there, yet no official effective action has been seen from the world governments.
Not long before I started writing this early Monday morning, this came across the Reuters Twitter feed:

Medical source says at least 5 killed in protests in Yemen city of Taiz after police open fire.

This has become a near daily thing there. Yet will we hear anything from the governments that say they promote freedom? At best we will hear words of condemnation. But what will they actually do to stop this regime and the others, who so blatantly brutalize humanity?

In all truth, what can actually be done? If we have an ounce of humanity within ourselves, we must feel the desire to help each and everyone of these countries. But we must acknowledge our own limits. How do we justify helping some, but not others? The obvious is that we can't help all. So how then do we choose which to help, and which to not? How do we know which side is the good side in the fight? These are thoughts and questions we must all face. All the more so in these troubled times.

More later…

Obama to Seek Reelection

My third story published at Landmark Report

Obama: United States Must Decrease Oil Imports

It is now Wednesday, two days since his last televised speech, and Obama needing to be seen, came out with a shocker. The United States must decrease its oil imports.
Well way to go! He finally figured it out.
His answer though leaves us losing the momentarily found hope.
Obama seems to think that our only way to survival is to further indenture ourselves by spending more money on hybrids and alternative bio-fuels.
And so much for the sudden intelligence found in the administration.
Clearly they haven't figured out yet, that the majority of those either do not work, in the times they do simply aren't cost effective, like ethanol take massive amounts away from the food supply, or some combination of the above. Electric cars are another great one, as the amount of coal used up to keep them running, causes more pollution than the oil would, so they can't even claim the movement is actually for environmental reasons.
Whilst Obama did get it right that the United States must become more self sufficient, he's ignoring the obvious ways of doing so.
'Drill here! Drill now!' isn't just a catchy slogan. Tis not just a necessity but the most realistic solution.
We have the resources. Don't pay attention to the Obama administration saying we have as little as two percent of the worlds oil resources. Texas, Alaska, or Colorado each on their own have more than that, and it wouldn't be surprising if others did as well. Despite the denials of liberals (as well as some moderates and conservatives) the United States of America is a resource rich land. It always has been. Those resources are what brought a good number of the original settlers, and later immigrants. And there is a long way to go before there would actually be any legit worry of running out.
A huge result of actually drilling here and now, would be the massive amount of jobs gained by doing so. Thousands at least. Would be nice to see unemployment numbers actually go down. Obama, you do actually want to get America back to work don't you?
And of course with an increase in jobs comes more money. Which would in turn be spent in the communities nearest to the drilling, which would allow business there to order more product from elsewhere. Wouldn't you like to see that stimulus?
Who honestly could be against such things? Definitely not anyone who is legitimately trying to help and improve the United States of America. Any patriotic American would want to see us independent of other nations, and stronger than ever!