This has to be one of the most insensitive, moronic, brain-dead, humorous and honest statements we have heard in a long time. It was uttered by the US Army General John Campbell referring to the obliteration (yes, obliteration) of an Afghan hospital by an US airstrike, killing and wounding dozens of civilians. It deserves a place of honour along their equals, of which we quote a few below:

"Those students demonstrating should be arrested and given electrical shocks" Francisco Santos, former Colombian vice-president referring to a student demonstration demanding an improvement in the educational system.

"I can't afford the gas for two cars. I would rather not rob the state and let it pay me for the gas" Juan Manuel Corzo, Colombian senator earning 150.000 USD per year.

"Therefore we have reached an agreement to stimulate, favour, fuck… support this tourism" Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former Spanish prime minister to Russian authorities.

“Life is indeed precious, and I believe the death penalty helps affirm this fact.” Former New York City mayor Edward Koch.

"The opposition keeps telling me to go home. To which one? I have twenty" Silvio Berlusconi - former Italian prime minister.

"This is not the case of taking from the rich and giving to the poor like Robinson Crusoe did" Carlos Menem, former Argentine president referring to Robin Hood.

"It's OK to lie, but not that much" Alan Garcia, former president of Peru.

"When our party took office, the nation was on the edge of the abyss. Since then, we have taken a step forward" Unknown minister of economy.

REALITY MIMICKING FICTION

It actually reminds us of a scene from the movie Canadian Bacon.

Setting: office in the Pentagon. Smiley and General Panzer are watching a video.

Gen. Panzer:                 Oooooh boy!

Gen. Panzer:                Look at that!

Gen. Panzer:               That's footage never seen on TV.

Action:                      The TV screen is displaying the video from a camera mounted on the cone of a smart weapon as it approaches its target. The crosshairs point directly at a building, which becomes progressively larger and larger until a large explosion can be seen.

Gen. Panzer:              Yowsah!

Smiley:                      It's amazing.

Smiley:                     How did you know that was a nuclear facility?

Gen. Panzer:            They tricked us there. That's a hospital.

Gen. Panzer:            But it's a hell of a strike.

Note: incidentally, we find the movie quite hilarious. Go see it if you have a chance and then tell us that reality does not mimic fiction.

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

Oh. That's right. It so happens that a few days back an AC-130 gunship was dispatched to target a Taliban command in Afghanistan. Experiencing targeting system malfunction, the crew of the gunship decided to use visual cues to hit the target. Instead they destroyed the building, people, patients, bystanders, dogs and presumably a great deal of bacteria that were inhabiting a Doctors Without Borders-sponsored hospital located 400 meter from the intended target. According to witness accounts, people who did not die immediately were tracked in real-time and cut down by gunfire which was following their movements. Or by shrapnel. But that's OK because they were the lucky ones. Those who were not shot and could not move died burned to death in the ensuing fire. Slowly. Though luck.

NOW THINK

Is this a tragedy? Not a chance. In the big scheme of things it does not even qualify as an event. Even a tiny one. Dozens of innocent people died and the only reason why we know about this is because the US armed forces had the back luck to obliterate a target with good PR. That's about it. Now take a look at reality:

• About half the world lives in poverty (3 billion).
• About 1.2 billion live in extreme poverty.
• About 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 / day.
• 2.6 million children die per year due to hunger-related causes.
• Hunger is the number one cause of death in the world.
• About 60 billion USD per year would end extreme poverty.
• That's would be about 8% of the global GDP.

The World Food Programme says, “The poor are hungry and their hunger traps them in poverty.”

But what we say is this "The hungry are poor and their poverty traps them in hunger".

Notice the difference?

What happened to that hospital is tragic, but it is impossible to even begin to compare it to world hunger. And world hunger receives little to no attention. Except by us… and some other deluded people. What we are offering are real, sustainable solutions. Solutions that just work and work and keep working. What they offer is communism. How come?

Simple. Take a look at what they are proposing. Wealth expropriation. Much higher taxes. Bigger governments. Tougher laws and regulations. And to make sure everybody complies, what do they offer? Militarized police. Or Policized military. It does not matter how you call it. It is the iron thumb of the government over your life. Rights? What rights? It's aaaaaall for "the greater good". And we know that this does not work. How do we know this? Because it's been tried before. It was called communism and the USSR died of it.

The solution is not to make everybody equally poor, the solution is to make everybody richer, although not everybody will be equally rich. See for example Austrian Economics In Pictures and Piketty Fences.

How do they rationalize that restrictions on creativity and ingenuity will create larger food supplies?

How do they rationalize that removing motivations will motivate people to create more food?

How do they rationalize that removing capital from the hands of people creating food will create more food?

- Say, you there! We see that you are cultivating 100 acres and growing wheat. Unfortunately, you are rich and will have tax you 20% of your profits.

- But if you tax me, I'll only be able to cultivate 80 acres!!!

- Well… though luck! We need that money to feed the poor.

- ???

Yes, those positions are insane.

Again, "The hungry are poor and their poverty traps them in hunger".

The solution is not to steal from those who have, but to increase what the have-nots have by creating more stuff, faster and cheaper. The solution is to create more wealth for everybody.

And before you begin to cry Bloody Murder!, take a look at what we are proposing. We are showing you a system which is "social" in nature, if you enjoy such explanations. This is so because the only way to become rich is through fulfilling the necessities of people. The more people in need there is, the bigger the market and the bigger the potential to become rich. It is in our nature to be greedy because it is our biological imperative to survive. Yet, this does not mean that the correct answer is to subdue and reduce this instinct; the correct answer to the problem is to harness the immense power of this instinct and direct it to the betterment of all humanity.

CONCLUSION

Once in a while government officials or their minions utter very funny words. The problem is that the price we pay for this privilege is astronomical. The problem is that the price everybody pays for such cheap show is astronomical. The solution is not to rein those clowns in but to fire them. All of them.

But perhaps you love the military. But perhaps you are in the military. That's your choice. You decided to take on such a task. You decided that it was a good idea to make a living killing people. Or training to kill people. O be ready to kill people. That was your choice, not ours. Now, you will have to live with it. Suck it up!

Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.