Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts

Just got up about half an hour ago and I am sitting in front of my laptop browsing news and sipping my morning cuppa. One of the headlines stands out immediately, announcing the execution of the Japanese hostage, Shosei Koda. I try and read other news articles, reluctant to make this sad piece of information the first thing I read in the morning. The article, when I finally get to it, is a fairly short description of the incident with a small picture of Shosei kneeling in front of his captors. To have died this way perhaps must really be one of the worst ways to die. I hate to think of all that must have gone on in Shosei's head while he was held hostage. The murder astounds me with sheer scale of brutality. What is it that motivates these people to commit murders in cold blood ? To what cause and to what effect ?

I find it very hard to believe that the only motivation of the terror groups involved in these executions is to drive the coalition forces (read US and the British) out of the country. Behind the facade of the "jihad" to drive out the "infidels", there must be a more compelling reason. Any Pam, Pussy or Mary (R) would know it as a fact that Iraq sits on one of the world's largest oil fields and controlling them must mean a lot of money and great power. Could that be the motivator, the corruptor ? And would you believe Dubya is immune to these temptations too ? One of the real cool documentaries I saw off late was Fahrenheit 911, a must see that touches upon the politics of the Iraqi war. My guess is if Dubya's mommy sees it, she wouldnt vote for her own son. I also recommend a book, O Jerusalem, by Dominique Lappiere, about the Arab Israeli conflict.