HMS Dreadnought (British Battleship, 1906) underway, circa 1906-07.
I had a “why we fight” moment last night reading Alan Cross’ website.
He posted an article about extremist groups and warlords in Somalia sending warning to the local radio stations: “stop playing music or we’ll kill you!”
CBC: Islamists force Somali stations to turn off music
Here is what i don’t get about this whole extreme Islam… why would anyone want to do it. Lets say I’m an AK47 toting militia man. I might some what understand that if I follow the larger man with the gnarly beard, glass eye and hook for a hand in his crazy pyramid scheme… as we oppress everything, I’ll get to be one of the chosen one(s). But when he comes to me and says, Jeremynabad, I want you to go down the street and fire your machine gun into Desert 107, “The Rock of Mogadishu;” I might say… “hold on a second… just wait one minute!
“I like Mohammad Omar and Mohammad Akbar in the morning, those dudes are hilarious! They have such a clever spin on the chronic food shortages and extreme corruption of the.. our government!”
It got me thinking, the Canadian government should commission a new bread of fighting troop. The first Canadian Armoured Broadcast Division. We’d find an old WWI era dreadnought, refit it in dry-dock in Esquimalt. Christen her, HMCS Rock & Roll and set sail from CFB Esquamlt. Destination: Indian Ocean.
Instead of fighting the pirates, we BE pirates. We’d broadcast a pirate rock and roll radio station off the coast and free the minds of the people of Somalia using the power of sound.
Instead of broadcasting animal sounds… we could put Pearl Jam’s Vs. on and spin “Animal.” Then say, “hey Hezbol-Islam, come get some.”
Aye, Ready Aye!
***
Jokes aside, it does demonstrate how much freedom totally rules and how… because of a cosmic roll of the dice; if you were born inside different borders your life would be mighty different (and no Pearl Jam? Is that even a life?).
I got a message from someone in the Canadian Forces who said that the Frigates and Destroyers do have the ability to broadcast radio signals and that they do blast forth some rock & roll when they are patrolling for pirates off the coast. Rock not Bombs right…
There are two radio station in Mogadishu still playing music, a UN station and an official Somali government run station. They are the only two located in a small enclave of the city not completely over run with chaos. God speed to those two stations. I do wonder if there is a direct way to support freedom of media and art around the world? the only idea I have is to stick an FM transmitter on a battleship, but that idea seems way to colonial and thus, counter to the spirit of freedom.
Go with yourself.
The Morning After 