Iraqi oil development rights awarded to non-Iraqi companies:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8407274.stm
Anti-war protesters must be howling right now with the news that 2 non-Iraqi oil companies have been awarded the contracts for some of Iraq's biggest oil fields (BBC News). For years people have been complaining that the Iraq war was more about oil than about a threat to global security and while I tend to disagree - Saddam Hussein needed to be dealt with - I am a little outraged to see the 'spoils' being given to outside agencies rather than establishing a new Iraqi corporation that could potentially rebuild the shattered economy and bring some financial stability to the war-torn nation. From a practical view point it would make more sense to have external agencies act as consultants for this, who can advise on the development and infrastructure. Ultimately, the oil fields are the property of Iraq and should be managed by the Iraqi people.
I understand that it is a lucrative deal that will boost the Iraq economy regardless of who manages the oil fields but from an ethical perspective it looks like Iraq's oil is being 'prostituted' to the highest bidder. If we in the western world can perceive it in this way then who knows how insurgents will see it and what they will try to do. The country is already in much turmoil and this will likely fuel the fire of rage against the 'western world'.
The world waits with baited breath...
Friday 11 December 2009
Sunday 15 November 2009
A word on the blog address...
Greetings.
The title of this blog is A Social Commentary at the interesting address of 'rabadashtheridiculous' quite simply because in my other blog 'mimseyesonthesky' I was starting to rant a little about the world and society and realised that it wasn't really in keeping with the original aim of the blog. I originally used my first blog as a means of conveying my journeys either to actual places or just in life, but somewhere along the line I began to make some social commentary that didn't seem appropriate. Thus Rabadash the Ridiculous was formed.
It is named thus from the C S Lewis book 'The Horse and His Boy'. Rabadash is a character from the story who foolishly tries to attack Archenland, a neighbouring country to Narnia, without provocation (aside from having his marriage proposal declined by Queen Susan). He ultimately becomes a symbol of an uninspiring era in the history of his native country Calormen because of his early folly, which has, unbeknownst to his countrymen, made him captive in his own city (thanks to Aslan). It is because of his apparent lack of native pride / ambitions of conquest that he earns the posthumous title "Rabadash the Ridiculous"
I felt it was an apt address to use for my blog on social commentary, albeit slightly random, because I feel we are in an interesting era where everything is sort of upside down. I may use the phrase "Donkey Award" and this is another reference to Rabadash, who was turned into a donkey before returning to Calormen. I shall probably nominate various people for this award. For example, last week it would have gone to The Sun newspaper whose campaign against Gordon Brown for misspelling a fallen soldier's name in a handwritten letter to his grieving mother backfired when they misspelled his mother's name in their editorial. Sweet irony and poetic justice.
So here it is. I present you the new blog for social commentary. Enjoy, comment, criticise if you need to.
The title of this blog is A Social Commentary at the interesting address of 'rabadashtheridiculous' quite simply because in my other blog 'mimseyesonthesky' I was starting to rant a little about the world and society and realised that it wasn't really in keeping with the original aim of the blog. I originally used my first blog as a means of conveying my journeys either to actual places or just in life, but somewhere along the line I began to make some social commentary that didn't seem appropriate. Thus Rabadash the Ridiculous was formed.
It is named thus from the C S Lewis book 'The Horse and His Boy'. Rabadash is a character from the story who foolishly tries to attack Archenland, a neighbouring country to Narnia, without provocation (aside from having his marriage proposal declined by Queen Susan). He ultimately becomes a symbol of an uninspiring era in the history of his native country Calormen because of his early folly, which has, unbeknownst to his countrymen, made him captive in his own city (thanks to Aslan). It is because of his apparent lack of native pride / ambitions of conquest that he earns the posthumous title "Rabadash the Ridiculous"
I felt it was an apt address to use for my blog on social commentary, albeit slightly random, because I feel we are in an interesting era where everything is sort of upside down. I may use the phrase "Donkey Award" and this is another reference to Rabadash, who was turned into a donkey before returning to Calormen. I shall probably nominate various people for this award. For example, last week it would have gone to The Sun newspaper whose campaign against Gordon Brown for misspelling a fallen soldier's name in a handwritten letter to his grieving mother backfired when they misspelled his mother's name in their editorial. Sweet irony and poetic justice.
So here it is. I present you the new blog for social commentary. Enjoy, comment, criticise if you need to.
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