Part 3: Territory Lost. Territory Captured!

Wars are not only being fought with guns, our stomachs and more specifically, who sells what goes in them is a new battlefield. Monsanto, the makers of fine stain resistant carpeting, is busy at work making financially profitable affronts to humanity, not far removed from the likes of “Soylent Green.” Citizens of this world are virtual guinea pigs to be used for experimentation and product research; when things go wrong, grease a few palms, then continue on. Corporate behavior of this sort is all too common in Modern Society. 

         ****Trailer for documentary Food Inc.****
 

Monsanto, as detailed throughout her book, “The World According to Monsanto,” Marie-Monique Robin gives us a peek into the horrid business practices the makers of “rBGH” and “Agent Orange” make routine. Genetically modified crops, researched under the guise of ending world hunger, have invaded the food supply, mutating the existing strains to produce sterile offspring, forcing farmers to buy new seed every season; this sort of business plan would make a comic book super-villain shake his head in disgust.

****More of a music video; but a lot of Monsanto's deeds.**** 

History books report America suspending trade and hampering Japan’s oil supply as a primary reason for the attack on Pearl Harbor. In her book, The Gravedigger’s Daughter, Joyce Carol Oates spends a lot of time chronicling the hardships of a family of German immigrants trying to avoid the turmoil of WWII; she ignores the Pacific aspect like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the plight of Americans of Japanese decent and Asians in general. I assume because they did not have much to do with the core story.

            In writing this paper I was drawn to Kevin Dockery’s book Future Weapons, mainly because of the strong resemblance between cover model the XM8 kinetic modular weapons system (page 96) and Halo’s Assault Rifle. Kevin’s book is more of a catalogue, listing rates of fire, size of rounds, range and such. Ralphie’s mom, from A Christmas Story, should be grateful that this book was not lying on her pillow. His book did provide some insight into the boundless potential for profit that weaponry affords. The XM8 itself proved troublesome, it was too heavy, expensive, had problems with overheating, and sparked controversy from companies not allowed to bid on the contract to develop them. Killing is always very profitable after all, everyone wants their “piece of the pie.”