Distopian Linkfest

Just when you begin to think that South Africa really is a civilized nation they seem to go out of their way to convince you that’s not, in fact the case.

Is an Afghan version of the Tet Offensive in the works?  CNN seems to be implying it may be.  Excuse me for stating the obvious but that would be very, very bad.  Of course, if you are the Taliban leadership this is probably a good time to try a bold move.  Spring has arrived, the 17,000 troops haven’t (yet), Washington still hasn’t completed their strategic review, nobody is quite sure what the Europeans are going to do, a new narrative which is decidedly gloomy about our prospects there and national policy makers are distracted with the economic crisis.  A significant strike which makes the Afghan/coalition forces look weak or over-reactive might convince enough people that the whole thing isn’t worth it and encourage us to get the hell out.

Via Kotare, (who linked here which makes this the stereotypical snake eating its own tail) Jeff Vail predicts the imminent dissolution of the Mexican state.  I can’t comment on his hypothesis that this is signaling the beginning of the end of the nation state (although I’m putting his paper on my reading list since my weak laptop won’t allow me to do what I’d prefer to spend my time on) but I think something has been missed in all this talk about the problems going on south of the border.

The civil wars in Central America during the 1980s resulted in an  strange cyclical flow of criminals and insurgents between the U.S. and countries south of our borders.  As times got tough or conflicts ended, a number of people came north with few skills other than serving in the military or being an insurgent.  Unable to merge into the legitimate economy, they found their skills could be put to use in criminal activities and contributed to the rise in the Hispanic gang population.  Then…

Since the mid-1990s, U.S. immigration policy has dramatically boosted the proliferation of gangs throughout Latin America and Asia by deporting tens of thousands of immigrants with criminal records back to their home countries each year, including a growing number of gang members. In 1996, around 38,000 immigrants were deported after committing a crime; by 2003, the number had jumped to almost 80,000. Often, gang members have spent nearly their entire lives in the United States. But once they run afoul of the law, their immigrant status leaves them vulnerable to deportation.

The countries that receive the flood of deportees are usually ill-equipped to deal with so many returning gang members.

It’s not as though many gang members wish to remain in the countries of their birth. With little or no connection to their new homes, deported gang members typically face a simple choice: either find a way to return to the United States or seek protection from local gang members. In the case of MS-13, the U.S. government has deported hundreds of members, many of whom continue to illegally migrate back and forth, often carrying goods or people with them. Those that remain in their home countries are almost sure to connect with other deported gang members, and authorities in these countries say they are responsible for a large upswing in crime and violence. In a sense, U.S. immigration policy has amounted to unintentional state-sponsored gang migration. Rather than solving the gang problem, the United States may have only spread it.

(Check out the whole source article here)

So, even if Mexico doesn’t collapse will we see a repeat (perhaps on a larger scale) of this behavior?  A further spread of Mexican gangs fueled by the criminal groups seeking to establish/consolidate their position in the illicit commodities trade and also by the revolving door of criminals being deported to Mexico and sneaking back into the U.S., usually to stay with friends/family in a sort of unintentional colonization.

[W]hen people move, they take their culture with them. For example, Trey, a member of Chicago’s massive Gangster Disciples, moved to a small town in Arkansas where his brother, who is not a gang member, had found a job. Although Trey tried to “go legit,” he soon found that his status as a Gangster Disciple from the housing projects of Chicago gave him a formidable reputation in small-town Arkansas. Within nine months, he started a new Gangster Disciples “chapter” with 15 members.

And to top it all off, Germany is now selling ‘Obama-fingers‘.  I’m not sure if something has been lost in translation or German marketers have decided to target the cannibal/zombie demographic directly.  Either way, nothing good can come of this.

Yep…time to get your ‘Go bags’ ready ladies and gentlemen.  I think I’ll re-watch Mad Max this weekend (this time as an instructional video).