GETTING IT [and] BACKYARD DISCOVERIES

                  GETTING IT

I found this article the other day by Chris Hedges while doing our normal daily A.P.R. news scan. Chris has written some very insightful anti-war articles, which have appeared on a number of different web-sites. Chris's writing here sums up very well the current socio-political/economic system here in the U.S. You may remember reading about the rioting in Greece several weeks ago, when their government was facing great political and economic pressure from the U.S., other European countries, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to enact "austerity measures", aka, a Shock Doctrine. But most of the people in Greece knew better, what this meant. Give this a read...see what you think.

 

The Greeks Get It

by Chris Hedges

Here's to the Greeks. They know what to do when corporations pillage and loot their country. They know what to do when Goldman Sachs and international bankers collude with their power elite to falsify economic data and then make billions betting that the Greek economy will collapse. They know what to do when they are told their pensions, benefits and jobs have to be cut to pay corporate banks, which screwed them in the first place. Call a general strike. Riot. Shut down the city centers. Toss the bastards out. Do not be afraid of the language of class warfare-the rich versus the poor, the oligarchs versus the citizens, the capitalists versus the proletariat. The Greeks, unlike most of us, get it. 

The former right-wing government of Greece lied about the size of the country's budget deficit. It was not 3.7 percent of gross domestic product but 13.6 percent. And it now looks like the economies of Spain, Ireland, Italy and Portugal are as bad as Greece's, which is why the euro has lost 20 percent of its value in the last few months. The few hundred billion in bailouts for other faltering European states, like our own bailouts, have only forestalled disaster. This is why the U.S. stock exchange is in free fall and gold is rocketing upward. American banks do not have heavy exposure in Greece, but Greece, as most economists concede, is only the start. Wall Street is deeply invested in other European states, and when the unraveling begins the foundations of our own economy will rumble and crack as loudly as the collapse in Athens. The corporate overlords will demand that we too impose draconian controls and cuts or see credit evaporate. They have the money and the power to hurt us. There will be more unemployment, more personal and commercial bankruptcies, more foreclosures and more human misery. And the corporate state, despite this suffering, will continue to plunge us deeper into debt to make war. It will use fear to keep us passive. We are being consumed from the inside out. Our economy is as rotten as the economy in Greece. We too borrow billions a day to stay afloat. We too have staggering deficits, which can never be repaid. Heed the dire rhetoric of European leaders.

"The euro is in danger," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers last week as she called on them to approve Germany's portion of the bailout plan. "If we do not avert this danger, then the consequences for Europe are incalculable, and then the consequences beyond Europe are incalculable."

Beyond Europe means us. The right-wing government of Kostas Karamanlis, which preceded the current government of George Papandreou, did what the Republicans did under George W. Bush. They looted taxpayer funds to enrich their corporate masters and bankrupt the country. They stole hundreds of millions of dollars from individual retirement and pension accounts slowly built up over years by citizens who had been honest and industrious. They used mass propaganda to make the population afraid of terrorists and surrender civil liberties, including habeas corpus. And while Bush and Karamanlis, along with the corporate criminal class they abetted, live in unparalleled luxury, ordinary working men and women are told they must endure even more pain and suffering to make amends. It is feudal rape. And there has to be a point when even the American public-which still believes the fairy tale that personal will power and positive thinking will lead to success-will realize it has been had.

What is happening in Greece, what will happen in Spain and Portugal, what is starting to happen here in states such as California, is the work of a global, white-collar criminal class. [aka The Shock Doctrine http://akprogressive.blogspot.com/2009/10/capitalisms-dirty-warssecrets.html, eds]

No government, including our own, will defy them. It is up to us. Barack Obama is simply the latest face that masks the corporate state. His administration serves corporate interests, not ours. Obama, like Goldman Sachs or Citibank, does not want the public to see how the Federal Reserve Bank acts as a private account and ATM machine for Wall Street at our expense. He, too, has helped orchestrate the largest transference of wealth upward in American history. He serves our imperial wars, refuses to restore civil liberties, and has not tamed our crippling deficits. His administration gutted regulatory agencies that permitted BP to turn the Gulf of Mexico into a toxic swamp. 

The refusal of Obama to intervene in a meaningful way to save the gulf's ecosystem and curtail the abuses of the natural gas and oil corporations is not an accident. He knows where power lies. BP and its employees handed more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics

We are facing the collapse of the world's financial system. It is the end of globalization. And in these final moments the rich are trying to get all they can while there is still time. The fusion of corporatism, militarism and internal and external intelligence agencies-much of their work done by private contractors-has given these corporations terrifying mechanisms of control. Think of it, as the Greeks do, as a species of foreign occupation. Think of the Greek riots as a struggle for liberation.

Dwight Macdonald laid out the consequences of a culture such as ours, where the waging of war was "the normal mode of existence." The concept of perpetual war, which eluded the theorists behind the 19th and early 20th century reform and social movements, including Karl Marx, has left social reformers unable to deal with this effective mechanism of mass control. The old reformists had limited their focus to internal class struggle and, as Macdonald noted, never worked out "an adequate theory of the political significance of war." Until that gap is filled, Macdonald warned, "modern socialism will continue to have a somewhat academic flavor."

Macdonald detailed in his 1946 essay "The Root Is Man" the marriage between capitalism and permanent war. He despaired of an effective resistance until the permanent war economy, and the mentality that went with it, was defeated. Macdonald, who was an anarchist, saw that the Marxists and the liberal class in Western democracies had both mistakenly placed their faith for human progress in the goodness of the state. This faith, he noted, was a huge error. The state, whether in the capitalist United States or the communist Soviet Union, eventually devoured its children. And it did this by using the organs of mass propaganda to keep its populations afraid and in a state of endless war. It did this by insisting that human beings be sacrificed before the sacred idol of the market or the utopian worker's paradise. The war state provides a constant stream of enemies, whether the German Hun, the Bolshevik, the Nazi, the Soviet agent or the Islamic terrorist. Fear and war, Macdonald understood, was the mechanism that let oligarchs pillage in the name of national security.

"Modern totalitarianism can integrate the masses so completely into the political structure, through terror and propaganda, that they become the architects of their own enslavement," he wrote. "This does not make the slavery less, but on the contrary more- a paradox there is no space to unravel here. Bureaucratic collectivism, not capitalism, is the most dangerous future enemy of socialism."

Macdonald argued that democratic states had to dismantle the permanent war economy and the propaganda that came with it. They had to act and govern according to the non-historical and more esoteric values of truth, justice, equality and empathy. Our liberal class, from the church and the university to the press and the Democratic Party, by paying homage to the practical dictates required by hollow statecraft and legislation, has lost its moral voice. Liberals serve false gods. The belief in progress through war, science, technology and consumption has been used to justify the trampling of these non-historical values. And the blind acceptance of the dictates of globalization, the tragic and false belief that globalization is a form of inevitable progress, is perhaps the quintessential illustration of Macdonald's point. The choice is not between the needs of the market and human beings. There should be no choice. And until we break free from serving the fiction of human progress, whether that comes in the form of corporate capitalism or any other utopian vision, we will continue to emasculate ourselves and perpetuate needless human misery.

As the crowds of strikers in Athens understand, it is not the banks that are important but the people who raise children, build communities and sustain life. And when a government forgets whom it serves and why it exists, it must be replaced...

© 2010 TruthDig.com

Chris Hedges writes a regular column for Truthdig.com. Hedges graduated from Harvard Divinity School and was for nearly two decades a foreign correspondent for The New York Times. He is the author of many books, including: War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, What Every Person Should Know About War, and American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.  His most recent book is Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle.

We know it can be overwhelming when we think of the Powers That Be, using the control of the corporate media, to maintain the existing order of mostly unregulated capitalism that is destroying the environment and keeping the majority of humanity on this planet locked in poverty and hopelessness. Yet, we must not give in to despair. It took generations of struggle for civil rights to be won in the US, and other countries, for people of colour, for women's suffrage, and for unions and working people to win things we take for granted now like 40 hour work-weeks, paid vacations, and workmen's compensation (which are now, and have been, for the last 20+ years, under threat of being rolled-back, thanks to both Democratic and Republican politicians being bankrolled by corporate interests). So it helps to remember that, and appreciate those millions of people in the past, who sacrificed so much, to give us a more civilised society. And it will take years, and probably decades more, of struggle, to bring a more sane and just society to this country, and the World, with a political and economic system based not on greed, but on love and respect for all life and the environment. But it will and must happen, or civilisation as we know it will be destroyed, due to global ecosystem collapse and rapid climate change.

                             BACKYARD DISCOVERIES

It was a fairly smooth move for us last week, as things were packed up by a moving company, then shipped down to Anchorage. Homer though was a little upset, changes to his routine can leave him rather uneasy. He managed to squeeze his large body under our bed friday before last, while the movers were packing things. But he calmed down after I reasoned with him, and has been fine since.

We've been pretty busy in just the one week since our relocation to the balmy latitude of 61.15 North, near the bustling metropolis of Anchorage (population around 300,000). And we are not too keen on spending much time in the larger city, with it's wide, busy streets, clogged with traffic during the day. Fortunately though, Anchorage's traffic is not nearly as bad as most large lower 48 cities, and quiets down greatly in the evenings and on weekends. Another nice thing is that trails and parks are never too far away, when a refuge from the city noise and bustle is required. The best thing though, at least for us, is that our backyard is Chugach State Park, 1300 square KM of unspoiled alpine terrain, glaciated at the higher elevations (that range from sea level to 2441 metres, or 8005 ft.), and is laced with trails and routes for quick access into real Alaskan wilderness, which continues much further beyond the boundaries of the park.

So we were able to get out on a few hikes last sunday, and again yesterday. Last sunday, we lit out from the site of the new Chugach Front Research Centre (in 3-4 weeks hence). I just threw a light pack together with food/water and extra layers, and we got onto the "Tank Road", which is a dirt/gravel road, in the Ft. Richardson army base property, which is protected wilderness on the eastern edge of the city, and abuts the Chugach State Park. We ran down this several KM, and got onto the Powerline Trail, which angles in to the mountains. The Powerline trail ascend gradually as it heads southeast into the Chugach. Giving you nice views of the city below, which seems so small from an oblique angle, with all the trees. We took a spur trail off the Powerline trail, which connected with others, eventually leading to the Near Point Trail. This spur trail had nice views of the coming mountains, and led down into the canyon of Campbell Creek, a nice clear, free-running stream.

In fact, one thing we really love about being in the backcountry in this area, is the abundance of clear-flowing streams, and all the benefits they provide. Lower elevation streams in the Interior (which are fewer, because of the drier climate), are usually sluggish and turbid, not very attractive. Here though, on these trails, we were happy to see one at least every 500 metres, or less, thanks to the moister climate, and steeper terrain.

Mattie of course, since she thinks she is an otter, has to make the most of each one, no matter how muddy or dirty, and rolls whole-heartedly into them. Fortunately, she gets clean when we get to another, larger one.

By the time we got onto the trail junction for the Near Point, it got quite a bit steeper, and I had to stop running, and just hike briskly. Which is what I usually do on my fast-packs, run the downhills/levels/slight inclines, and walk the steeper uphills. It was very steep and muddy in sections heading up the face of Near Point, a 950 metre knob, coming off the main Chugach Front. So much so, that I went knee-deep a few times into some mud, which took some effort pulling out, not to lose one of my multi-sport shoes. But with those and my neoprene socks, my feet stayed warm and comfortable. This is about 3/4 the way to the top of Near Point, looking back in to the mountains. There were still alot of snow patches at tree-line and above (700 metres and higher). The top of Near Point, which we acquired in just two hours of running and walking from near the site of our new Chugach Front Research Centre, gave us stunning views. This is looking east, further into the Chugach mountains. If you look closely, a trail is visible heading in. Once we get established in our new research centre, I'll get a 3-4 day pack together, and we'll head up from it into this valley, and over a pass, for a thorough reconnaissance of this beautiful area. Travel will be easier then, as more snow melts. You can see just how close the new research centre is to the mountains from the view looking down from Near Point.  That's why we chose that site for it!

We had a quick lunch, and savoured the views for a half-hour or so. It was probably only about 8C up there at 950 metres, with a stiff breeze, much cooler than where we started, where it was probably 14C (58F).  As you can see, I had gotten pretty muddy, during the walk up.

The view to the south shows how the Chugach Front continues, then angles southeast, above Turnagain Arm. Lots of different routes and trails are located throughout this area.

We headed down after a half-hour of savouring the view and a quick lunch. Although we just walked briskly back the rest of the way, this only took two hours as well, since it was mostly downhill.

We are very happy that a 23 KM fast pack from our new research centre on the edge of the city, will take us to places like this. Longer multi-day outings can also occur for us without any driving. And for just our daily runs and nordic skis, on the trails in lower terrain, access will also be right from our door.

Yesterday we just had time for a short hike up the Wolverine Peak trail, which also connects with the Powerline trail, making it accessible from the C.F.R.C. But we drove to a trailhead, since we were already running errands in town. This trail ascends rapidly up from the Campbell Creek canyon.

Near this saddle area where the trail levels off, we made an interesting discovery, on a north-facing slope above.

A grove of stunted, wind-flagged mountain hemlocks stretched above us. These beautiful small trees grow at higher elevations up to tree-line, only in cool, moist areas, from the Cascades of Oregon and Washington (and even around Glacier Park, Montana), north along the coastal margins, to here in Alaska. When our friend Erik and I fast-packed the Chilkoot Trail last labour-day weekend, we came across some just on the other side of Chilkoot Pass.

We think this grove here in the Chugach, may just be the furthest-north one of it's kind! They can't tolerate extreme arctic cold, say -35C (-31F) or colder, and they require cool, moist growing season conditions. The Chugach Front is the furthest north area in North America where winter-cold doesn't usually reach those extremes, combined with much cooler and moister summer conditions than those found further north and inland over the Interior. Interesting. These trees are also "flagged" from the southeast. Meaning all the branches on the top halves of the trees point northwest. This is because strong prevailing southeast winds occur here, which often exceed 110 km/hr, and can reach 160 km/hr (100 mph), when low pressure systems are in the vicinity, over the Gulf of Alaska. You'll see flagged trees in many areas where strong prevailing winds occur, another excellent example being around the Columbia Gorge of Oregon/Washington.

The trail, as it wound through the beautiful stunted hemlocks, quickly became clogged with snow, so we turned back, since I was wearing my Chaco sandles. In a few weeks, the snow patches will be gone, and we'll be going to the top of Wolverine Peak, and further on our multi-day outings. How fortunate we are, to able to enjoy places like this, so close to a city. I think Anchorage very likely provides the best, and quickest access to true alpine terrain of any city on Earth! Cheers.