Nov 6 - IDPEEWAC

Here's a holiday you don't want to miss.  Today is:

International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War & Armed Conflict

Really. 

There is only 1 organization in the world inefficient enough to come up with a holiday that cannot be named with fewer than 14 words!  Yes, your personal favorite and mine:  the United Nations.

According to the holiday website, "Many people [what...like the 2 dozen holed-up inside the UN?] spend time discussing how the effects of war are damaging to the natural environment.  Seminars, speeches, lectures, news articles, radio talks, and classroom activities in schools that focus on the topic are some of the events that take place on this day. People learn and share information about the dangers of new technologies in war such as depleted uranium ammunition, which poses unknown threats [AKA: "fabricated threats"] to the environment. People around the world are also made aware that all efforts must be taken to limit environmental destruction caused by conflict."

The most blatantly ridiculous aspect of this "holiday" isn't the quicksand foundation on which it it based, or the assumption that we need the UN to tell us that detonating bombs causes damage, but the fact that they have declared it a HOLIDAY to be "celebrated." How?  With discussion... speechmaking... and dissemination of information, of course!  Seriously?  Someone needs to teach these people what it means to CELEBRATE!! 

Holidays are meant to be characterized by ingesting copious amounts of exquisite food, raucous conversation, libations, music, games, laughter, dancing, etc.!!  All they'd have to do is take some of that rice money they've pilfered from charitable donations and throw themselves a PARTY!  But what do they have to celebrate?  Afterall, destruction rings neither joyful nor triumphant!  Perhaps they got it right in the first place and chose activities that perfectly reflect the life-giving nature of their mentality and their holiday.  

In honor of IDPEEWAC, I intend to drive my not-so-environmentally-friendly SUV to the Lake of the Ozarks where I will celebrate friendship (i.e., eat, drink and be merry) with several gals whose loved-ones have "destroyed the natural enviroment by engaging in armed conflict" so that I can be free to publicly disparage the UN.  Ain't life grand?!

Happy IDPEEWAC to you all.  Try not to overdose on the discussion and speechmaking though.