“She looked like a whore!”
This was the first thing I heard in response to what was apparently a raunchy dance routine by pop singer (and clearly, expert marketer) Miley Cyrus…
The mediocre vocalist with a top-notch publicist made waves after appearing on the Video Music Awards in an unflattering bikini and grinding her 20-year-old ass against the pelvis of another plastic-faced pop star.
Turns out this was enough to make the likes of CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC run around like a bunch of gossipy school girls to cover this “breaking story.”
Of course, I could care less about Miley Cyrus — and pretty much any kind of pop culture shenanigans.
In fact, I find it in incredibly poor taste that so many folks in this nation place this kind of nonsense above oh, I don’t know, the rapid disintegration of our Constitutional rights, the destruction of the dollar, high unemployment, overcrowded prisons, illegal and unethical wars that continue to siphon our blood and treasure. The list goes on and on.
Don’t get me wrong; I get it. It’s a business, just like anything else. And I don’t fault the publicists or the entertainers for their hustle. We all have to make a buck, right?
The problem, however, is that when these types of stories make headline news, they trump the stuff that’s actually important.
Just Another Day
Perhaps one of the most mind-boggling examples of American priorities is the interest in a Miley Cyrus dance routine and the World War III powder keg that is Syria.
Take a look at this Google search interest chart from analyst Michael Lotfi, which compares search interest in “Miley Cyrus” and “Chemical Attack Syria”:
Unreal.
Sometimes I just wonder if we even deserve the liberty we inherited from those before us.
In any event, at this point, you know the deal with Syria: chemical attacks, dictators, rebels, genocide. Sadly, to the world, this is just another day.
But here’s something that, in my opinion, is certainly worthy of more coverage than a half-naked pop star…
According to an investigation by the Middle East news outlet Al Monitor, Saudi Arabia has secretly offered Russia a deal to control the global oil market and safeguard Russia’s gas contracts if the Kremlin backs away from the Assad regime in Syria.
And Lebanese newspaper As-Safir wrote that Saudi Prince Bandar offered to protect Russia’s Syrian naval base if the Assad regime is taken out, and suggested that there could be Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics if Putin didn’t work with the Saudis on this.
Allegedly, Bandar said: “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us.”
Syria Attacks the United States
Meanwhile, we learned this week that Syrians launched a major cyber attack against the United States.
This past Wednesday, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) took over the domain registration of several U.S. companies by attacking Australian Internet service Provider MelbourneIT. This is the company that provides and manages website addresses for a number of huge corporations, such as Microsoft, the New York Times, Twitter, and Yahoo!.
According to HD Moore, Chief Research Officer of cyber security firm Rapid7, if the SEA had actually gone all out, they could’ve done a lot more damage — and had most of the Internet watching them run the show.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Syrian hackers attacked U.S. interests. Earlier this month, CNN, Time, and the Washington Post were also attacked by the SEA.
Massive and Serious
While the SEA continued its attacks this week, outgoing DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters that a massive and serious cyber attack on the U.S. homeland is coming.
What does she mean by “massive and serious?”
Well, rumors have been circulating that the U.S. will soon be hit with a major cyber attack on the grid. Some have even suggested that within seconds of an attack, the entire Northeast corridor could be taken completely offline.
Depending upon the sophistication of the attack, there’s no telling how long it would take for the power to come back on. And make no mistake about it; such an attack would not only leave us without air conditioning and lights… it would also leave us vulnerable to the will of those who wish to do us harm.
That’s why I continue to believe that in this day and age, you simply cannot rely on anyone else to look out for your best interests — especially the government.
Live honorably, live free…
Jeff Siegel for Freedom Watch
