As IF Times

link:  https://reason.com/2024/06/15/house-passes-bill-to-automatically-register-young-men-for-the-draft/

We frequently hear the word ‘war’ used to describe all manner of campaigns these days.  The war on drugs sure, but the war on obesity, on climate change, on hate? Such are examples of issues that are inflated to the level of war, when they really only rate a level of inconvenience at worst and are commercial enterprises at best.

The true effects of a real war include death, destruction and untold misery heaped upon millions of willing and unwilling participants alike.  In our recent times, most people are fortunate not to have been participants in an all-out world war.  The world is never absent of regional skirmishes of some kind, many of which are never highlighted in today’s corporately run media.

Wars have historically been fought over land, resources and influence, principally of the religious kind.  In our modern world the main reasons to fight wars are largely absent. Resources are negotiated by exchange and trade in world markets.  There is very little reason to mount a campaign of nationalism to fight against some imaginary enemy ‘X’.  The never-ending regional wars in the Middle East are perhaps an outlier, since disagreements there have lasted for hundreds of years and the ideologies involved will never come to agreement.  In reality, the Middle East conflict has always been a proxy war for adherents to either side of an historic cultural divide. As in all wars, endless money ensures that war’s continuance.

In the case of Western nations, there is no imminent threat of Russian hegemony despite the hysterical pronouncements by modern Neo-cons fighting the last war from decades ago.  No American or citizen of a Western nation is suffering because of the actions of a purportedly hostile Russia.  The average citizen dealing with high mortgage payments, spiraling food, energy and living costs cannot blame Russia.  Dealing with rampant inner city crime, lawlessness and social decay has nothing to do with external threats from Russia, or China or North Korea.

All of these issues are in fact consequences of actions or inaction by domestic governments.  If you consider the comment I made earlier about war wreaking death, destruction and misery upon a population, it appears that if there’s any war being propagated, it’s by the very governments whom are charged with protecting their constituency.  Very recently, the soon to be lame duck President of France, Emmanuel Macron threatened that France would enter a civil war if his party lost in their legislative elections.  As if things were going swimmingly now under his leadership.

There are clearly no shortages of resources in the modern world, yet nations are forced to pay the highest prices in history for things that are abundantly available everywhere.   Why should food, fuel, shelter and medical care be so expensive given the technology that exists in production and distribution?

Clearly there is mismanagement, corruption or subterfuge in distributing goods and services to the citizens of nations.  It’s concerning to hear all the sabre rattling about sending troops to far off nations to fight battles that have nothing to do with peoples’ everyday lives.  Some may be aware of recent maneuvers to implement automatic registration for conscription for those between the ages of 18 and 25 in the US.  Why is this necessary or even being considered?

There’s an old saw that posits that all wars are bankers’ wars and upon examination, it gets harder and harder to dispute this.  Before the next unqualified charlatan comes to the fore waving the patriotic flag for war, people had better think long and hard about what’s in it for them.  If there’s a war going on, it’s for the minds of ordinary citizens.

link:  https://www.sportsnet.ca/golf/article/charl-schwartzel-wins-4-75-million-at-inaugural-liv-golf-event/

With all of the ongoing vexations occurring in the world today, the latest headline grabber comes from the sports world.  As we all know, the world of ‘sports’ has changed dramatically over the last few generations, evolving from earnest competitions among talented participants to become grossly commercial endeavours pitting billionaires vs billionaires and their stables of ponies.  Sports is big business and most everyone in the world is a fan of some kind of sports activity.

Worldwide, but especially in the US, sports is not a pastime of leisure, or of dilettantes.  It is serious business as virtually every college and university in America has a sports program that is the farm system for players hoping to turn professional.  None of these programs would exist if not for the monetization potential of any particular sport.  I suppose the javelin toss and hammer throw could be the exceptions.  They’ve yet to make the televising of throwing spears or iron balls appealing to the masses…. but maybe one day.

There is no question that money is the lifeblood for sports; we’ve become accustomed to eye popping sums offered to professional athletes based on their perceived ability to fill a stadium, draw TV viewership or hawk products.

One of the few sports to have escaped (somewhat) this crass commercialism was golf. Sure, the players wore logo’d shirts and hats, but the players were always portrayed as gentlemen whose goals were loftier than just the prize cheque for winning a tournament.  It was good enough to be recognized as good.  Or it was… until money started to drive the game, which began with Arnold Palmer and ultimately with the monetization of Tiger Woods.  As the game changed from the genteel sentiments of Bobby Jones to the present day “Nascar-ing” of the sport, money has become the dominant influence of the game.  Forget Titleist or Callaway, the number one driver in golf….is money.

The recent uproar in the genteel golf world laid bare this reality as an upstart league, the LIV tour, backed by wealthy Saudis, sought to lure top tier players away from the long established PGA tour by offering eye watering amounts of money to play in their tournaments.  To illustrate the lure, consider that Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest in the history of the game, won 18 major tournaments along with 82 regular victories.  His total earnings for his career amounts to just over 120 million dollars.  Dustin Johnson, with only a fraction of Wood’s success was offered 125 million dollars, just to come over to the new league. I’m not going to judge Johnson’s sense of allegiance or values, but we all know, he isn’t going to win 18 majors and 82 tournaments in his career.  The same is true for all of the other notable names that have elected to forgo the PGA brand for the LIV offering.  In other words, these athletes are doing what every other athlete does in any other sport, they go to the highest bidder.  Money has affected golf; what a shock!

Of course the other criticism levelled against the defecting players is that they are supporting a regime which has an abysmal record on human rights.  Not only that, but the Saudis are the source of nationals responsible for terror attacks on the US.  None of those accusations are unfounded.   But as in most narratives, there is the other side of the coin.  Nike, one of the biggest sponsors of players on the PGA tour, (and in fact all sports) manufacture most of their gear in China, a nation which pays as much attention to human rights as Italian drivers do to stop signs.

You could argue that the big money paid to elite athletes sponsored by Nike are in fact off the backs of suffering worker bees oppressed in China.  It’s somewhat akin to the superiority that drivers of electric cars feel over petrol drivers, even though their electricity is made from burning coal.  If we’re going to demonize nations for their repressive actions, that’s fair.  It’s also fair to then point out the repressions in all nations, including the US and Canada, oft considered paragons of liberty.

It’s fair to say that the past two years have seen the most repressive human rights agendas perpetrated by these very nations that most vocally protest the deeds of the Saudis.  As of this writing, Canada for example, has yet to allow all of its citizens from leaving the country. Certain parts of the US still force people to inject harmful products into their bodies in order to work.  Bank accounts are seized over actions critical to the governments.  I don’t expect PGA players to refuse cheques issued by sponsors in these countries.

Both arguments against the defecting players are hypocritical.  No one amongst us would pass on an offer of significantly higher income for doing the same thing.  That is illogical. If we expect these guys to play for the love of the sport, then people should also be expected to work because they love accounting.  As for the association with human rights thuggery; have a look in the mirror; objects are closer than they appear.