Atlas didn't Shrug

Been trying mostly successfully to read Atlas Shrugged this last week or so.
I would absolutely with no shadow of a doubt say that Ayn Rand is the worse person who has ever lived. Yes, worse than Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Hitler and Fritzl.
No-one quotes Idi Amin to justify being a pimp for child prostitutes.

Reading AS is like reading Palpatine's diary or Lex Luthor's biography. Repeat: The. Worst.

Seriously, read Red Son by Mark Millar. Yes, it's a Superman comic but basically it's about Kennedy surviving to old age and Milton Friedman being president of the United States of America.

Or read Look To Windward.
It's about a society with only one real law and no taboos to speak of but it's main characters (three aliens and an Avatar of an AI war veteran) have so much more Humanity than the sexually-weird non-characters Rand came up with and people are allowed to live by their own moral code.
The problem with Rand's philosophical justification for unrestrained capitalism is that one could use the same or similar arguments to justify child slavery, murder or political autocracies. In fact if anything a dictatorship would be the only form of government logically acceptable to Rand if one goes by her justification for allowing capitalist monopolies.

The Force Awakens

 

I'm SO glad I saw The Force Awakens before reading the reviews in the newspapers, which contained spoilers.  The Force Awakens very much felt like a proper war film, the droids and stormtroopers had much more what I would call "Human agency" and ever have I felt so much like shouting, crying, cheering and wanting to strangle someone while watching a film about people who don't exist! I usually reserve my ire for politicians and war criminals!

The films is suitable for people who haven't seen any of the previous films but slight violence towards the end made The Force Awakens somewhat of a cross between a Vietnam war film and Game of Thrones. Not in a bad way at all however although the villains do come across as spotty fanboys.

 

It's an important point that is often too obvious for lifetime #SW fans to notice but the preludes were deliberately youngling-friendly.

A second obvious overlooked point is being afraid of an organisation consisting of just two individuals, certainly a metaphor for terrorism in this day and age when we face much greater threats for example global warming.

Correcting some misconseptions about Star Wars

Misconceptions part two 

Perhaps some clarifications are needed to cover certain misconceptions about the Star Wars saga.

4. The Jedi and clones by themselves would eventually have defeated the droid army.

 

Perhaps we can assume that all protagonists and Republic citizens
bar Sidious and the Separatist military leaders (the individuals we see in the films are basically mercenaries who are unconcerned about any political motives and in some cases actually fund and supply both sides-see point  5)
believe in the vastly exaggerated size of the droid army. However, if we assume certain capabilities of all combatants we can see that both sides are similarly matched. In the very first episode of The Clone Wars TV programme, Yoda and a handful of clones defeat a battalion of droids. A character states that one Jedi is worth a hundred battle droids then ups that figure to a thousand. Obi-Wan Kenobi is arguably "worth" ten thousand battle droids. The clone troops, similarly, could be considered to be equal to forty battle droids.

Note: Super Battle Droids are more powerful than the regular models but also more easily confused and turned against their mechanical comrades. 

So, even early in the war the Clone Army by itself is worth fifty million battle droids. By the war's end they effectively outnumber them. Not only that, but it would be impossible for the droids to occupy every planet in the Republic, even if they numbered in the trillions. There are 1.2 million planets in the Republic proper (arguably a lot more but....meh, while the Empire counts over sixty million planets based on population)

Even small groups of lightly-trained but highly motivated insurgents could demolish an occupying army even just using rocks and bare hands. The regular battle droids (like Cylons) have weak necks, easily snapped from behind for example, and the actions of just one insurgent would be enough to distract around five to eight droids while more insurgents target supplies or infrastructure.

 

5. The Trade Federation is still part of the Republic.

 

It does not secede, instead it remains in the Republic while facilitating trade with Separatist and neutral systems. Its droid armies however do fight on Dooku's behalf.

 

6. Prequel isn't a real word.

 

The proper term is sequel or prelude.

 

7. George Lucas wanted to make films for twelve year olds.

 

Adults just happen to like them! Perhaps this is an obvious point, but it does need to be made in light of criticism, not unwarranted, of episodes 1 to 3. Yes, they could be made darker but this would alienate a younger audience new to Star Wars. Also, the preludes were pretty depressing anyway considering they all, individually and collectively, ended very badly for the Republic and Jedi so I think some levity, just like the ending of 'Empire, would have been greatly needed.

The films are about hope after all.
And chopping people's hands off.

8. Darth Vader is not second in command of the Empire.

There's no evidence that he is second in command of anything or anybody in the Empire apart from Palpatine. No military rank is ever given to Lord Vader other than that in episodes 5 and 6 he is given some authority (perhaps temporarily?) over part of the imperial fleet: specifically Death Squadron in Empire Strikes Back. He has some authority over imperial officers in A New Hope but as far as the Death Star "top brass" are concerned" he has no real authority. He is simply a specialist cum advisor cum representative of the emperor, perhaps occupying the same position/role Anakin was given in Revenge of the Sith.

As a Sith it would be unwise of Sidious/Palpatine to give his apprentice wide ranging powers in case Vader decided to overthrow him (in the conventional sense) in a military coup. Therefore, Vader would have no formal rank or role beyond a specialist or advisory capacity.

9. It's nothing to do with Trek.

Star Trek is a television programme (and numerous spin-offs) from the 1960's about a ship of exploration in the future and its randy captain. But it's really about westward expansion in North America in the nineteenth century.
Star Wars is set in an unspecified past and is about a sectarian civil war, ultimately between two religious factions or ideologies. Neither of which really permit sex or marriage.
 

Misconceptions

Perhaps some clarifications are needed to cover certain misconceptions about the Star Wars saga.




1. The Rebellion had to be destroyed before there is a rebellion.




This is a point about the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars. We've seen how Palpatine got himself elected Chancellor and presumably he could manipulate the senate enough to stay in power. So, why the wars?


Simple, because this way any future enemies would be made to defeat each other rather than the possibility of joining forces in the future. If Palpatine were to remain in power there would be some move against him eventually and without a standing military there would be no way to prevent or deter most systems from leaving the Republic.


By taking advantage of Dooku, the Trade Federation and other parties who then exploited the frustrations of rebellious systems with the corruption in the senate-a senate so corrupt it encouraged an elder Jedi Master to join the Sith-the senate and the general citizenry would demand the creation of a standing military to protect against the potential depredations of the Separatist droid armies, which were commonly believed to number in the quintillions, while both forces would ultimately be under Sidious' control. The Jedi would be distracted, isolated and blamed for the war continuing, allowing their elimination by Sidious and Vader to appear to be in the best interests of the Republic.


Without this plot it is likely that the clone army secretly ordered by Syfo-Dyas would come under the control of Jedi fighting on behalf of secessionist systems protesting Palpatine's continued rule.




2. The Empire is Jar Jar's fault.




It was Binks who suggests that the senate give emergency powers to Palpatine besides his already extended term of office. This decision directly creates the war machine and officer class seen in the first trilogy.
However, in terms of actually fighting the Clone Wars the Republic already had the Judicial Forces and the ten thousand or so members of the Jedi Order plus the two hundred thousand clones discovered by Obi-Wan Kenobi and immediately available.


The droid army issued by the Separatists was vastly overstated by the Republic and only totalled around 100 million plus token numbers of organic officers, soldiers and technicians. Although this number still seemed large, battle droids were easily confused and were only effective in very large numbers against inexperienced local forces. The clones were much better soldiers and eventually numbered around three million. They could have been integrated into the Jedi Order or Judicials and then disbanded at the end of the war without the need for the Republic to commission a standing military. Perhaps the senate ultimately believed that the powers of the Jedi were exaggerated.


3. Anakin had to kill babies to end the war


He was convinced the Jedi were evil so this even justified the murder of infants. Moreover, he would have seen the need to defeat the Jedi to prevent their retaliation against himself, Palpatine and, in his mind, his wife, Padme, and the rest of the senate.


This would be likely to occur after Anakin slays the military leadership of the Separatists. This would end the war and prevent a future rebellion (see above point one) but it would also prove that the Sith were behind the war and that Palpatine was the master manipulator if the location of the renegades were known by the Chancellor. The Jedi would then be forced to not only arrest Palpatine but at least subdue the senate, who still supported Palpatine, in order to stage a coup. The senate would not understand any evidence or statements by the Jedi that Palpatine is a Sith Lord as they would have no understanding of what the term means or any understanding of Jedi theology.


Of course, Anakin himself could have assassinated all the senators instead of Jedi, but he was loyal to the current regime, no matter how corrupt and influenced by the Sith it was. He would have viewed the senate as essential in maintaining order in the galaxy as opposed to the Jedi who were now only potential renegades and separatists. Plus, without the assassination of their military leaders, the droid armies would still function and the war would have continued to either a bloody conclusion or a bloody stalemate and a divided galaxy.

After we have finished annihilating Syria perhaps we should bomb ourselves for a change.
I must admit I find the idea curiously appealing. After we finish killing ourselves we can plant flowers that spell out in letters large enough to be seen from space: Too annoying to live