Arab Demands for Democracy and Choice Echo Through Moscow

A global revolt would not be complete without another Russian Revolution.  1917 brought the first modern revolution, the late '80's and early '90's saw even more sweeping reforms and the fall of communism virtually everywhere (except in China and North Korea).  Now a new age of Russians have voiced their national discontent.  Born during the dawn of Russian capitalism, and the twilight of the Soviet Union, this new generation seeks political reform, more options in candidates, and a fresh start.  The list of demands is only likely to grow as reform is resisted by Putin and Medvedev.  What the protesters want may not be as revolutionary as what their parents demanded, but it's no less a revolution that could have sweeping implications for the future.  As every succeeding generation has realized, more democracy is always better than less.  

For Christian Extremists, Family=Fascism

By now, the decision by Lowe's and Kayak.com to pull their ads from the TLC show "All-American Muslim" is well-known.  Their decision was the result of a threatened boycott from an extremist religious group called the Florida Family Association (FFA).  Other notable shows on TLC include D.U.I. and Cellblock 6.  No such boycott of these shows, which highlight and sensationalize criminal behavior, has been undertaken.  To religious extremists (read fascists) like the FFA (and apparently Lowe's and Kayak.com), hatred and xenophobia are "family values".  Such groups could find their values are shared, ironically, by members of extremist Muslim sects.

Never mind that if you remove the traditional dress from the women, no one would be able to tell they're Muslim.  Never mind that one of the main participants is a football coach and federal agent who has dedicated his life to serving the people of the United States.  Nowhere in the show do Muslims advocate for any of the traditional hot-button topics typically opposed by Christians (much less Christian extremists).  To wit, no one on the show proposes: to make abortions easier, for gay marriage to be recognized, making The Origin of the Species mandatory reading for high-schoolers, etc.   

Regardless of the official corporate stance,  the only reason the companies and the hate-group (hiding behind the bible) boycotted was because the show was about Muslims.  As unjustifiable, murderous, and cowardly as the attacks on 9/11, 7/7, and the countless other dates were, at least the perpetrators managed to point to some justification other than "they're not us".

Syria and Iran Eye to Eye Even as Arab League Turns its Back

The differences between Syria and Libya are too numerous to be properly examined in this (or any) blog.  Some similarities, however, are striking.  Until Qaddafi's fall, both countries were led by relatively unpopular despots much more paranoid about losing power than interested in providing for their respective populaces.  Both were economically stagnant and would be totally irrelevant if not for their oil wealth.  

Their unemployment rates (especially of young males) and their propensity towards using violence against their own people, made these countries ripe for armed revolution.  While the UN may not be ready to invade Syria a'la Libya, rest assured that plans are in the works.  

The reason the UN has not intervened yet is due to the one striking difference between Syria and Libya: Libya did not have Iran.  Any UN intervention will involve (at least covertly) clashes between the West and Iran.  Iran's attempts at obtaining nuclear weapons are nearly as much of a deterrent as actually having them.  If the UN is going to go after al-Assad, it would be well-advised to do so before Iran can destroy Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, etc.  Such is the new calculus of Mid-east diplomacy.  

In World Diplomacy, Turkey Looks Both Ways Before Crossing the Street

Turkey's slow but certain transition from an independent and stabilizing force in the Middle East to a puppet for Iran is well documented.  Syria's troubles have thus put Turkey in an awkward position.  Careful not to upset Iran and Hezbollah (also strong supporters of Syria and the Assad regime), Turkey announces that it may prepare its forces only to act as a buffer should the inevitable Syrian civil war flood the region.  With Iran's reins firmly around Turkey's neck, however, it will talk only as tough as its handler will allow.  Syria presents Turkey with a golden opportunity to play peace-maker and world leader in a real Middle East peace process.   Sadly, going no further than the Arab League, Turkey refuses to commit troops or resources to help topple Assad.  Turkey is the only country outside Russia and Iran (and no one can expect either nation to step in in any meaningful way), that has a way to ease tensions.  Unfortunately, in its path towards the dark side, it lacks the will.   

Solemn Occasion Has 1984 Feel When Performed During Hockey Game

While at the Blackhawks v. Blue Jackets game the other night, a group of nervous/confused looking teenagers were sworn into the U.S. Army.  Certainly no one can doubt their courage and love of country, and their choice to enter into the service is an honorable one.

Their induction, however, felt very Orwellian.  During intermission, right near where the cannon (fired for every Blue Jackets goal) sits, and broadcast on the center score board monitor, about a dozen men and women raised their right hand, repeated the words, and became America's newest soldiers.  I had an easy time imagining Proletariat officers roving around town looking for wayward youths with cropped hair, reminding them of their duty to serve, and their devotion to their nation, inducting them on the spot, and whisking them away.  The decision to join the military, which these days will almost guarantee a trip to a foreign, inhospitable land that most kids and adults could not find on a map without words and lines, was hopefully not taken lightly.  To cement what should be a solemn and dignified occasion, should be done in the right place and at the right time.  During the first intermission of an NHL game (in a blatant recruitment effort) is neither.

Greeks Swim Towards Life-Raft, Daggers Unsheathed

More than a mere band-aid, the European version of a "bail-out" was a pressure dressing designed to stem the bleeding of the eviscerated Euro.  The plan was an inflatable lifeboat set afloat to rescue drowning economies, and country after country was climbing out of the frigid turbulent waters.  Until, that is, a tiny Mediterranean nation used to just barely staying afloat slashed all hope of rescue.  Greece, where tax evasion is a national past-time, now stands between success and failure.  Allowing Greece to decide via referendum whether to accept the terms of the rescue is akin to allowing a disoriented patient tell the doctor how to treat his injury.

Certainly Greece is not responsible for the downfall of the world economy.  Having neglected (in general) to pay their fare share (pun intended) of the clean-up, however, highlights not only a challenge to the world economy, but to globalization in general.     

Cain Looks Good From the Outside, but it's What's Inside That Counts

Herman Cain's recent (and likely short-lived) rise in overall popularity makes it prudent to examine the self-made business man closer.  His fiscal policies certainly entice fiscal conservatives, his foreign policy will make military mouths water, his oil-drilling policy will make conservatives everywhere sing his praises, and his Israel policy is bound to be popular with Jews (and those who understand the necessity of a free, democratic, stable ally in a region filled with societies that are anything but).  Here's an article espousing his political views.  So what's the catch for political conservatives who are (even marginally) social liberals?  

The catch is that Cain ardently believes that he (and those who follow his fire and brimstone, Christian absolutist, dominionist philosophy) has the biblical right to control every facet of our public (and private lives).  This belief comes from Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule...over all the creatures that move along the ground."  Essentially, should Herman Cain (or any other republican candidate minus Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman) become president, there would likely be an end to gay marriage (or any chance of federally recognized civil unions), homosexuals' ability to adopt, relations between consenting adults even in their own homes, abortion for any reason (including the life of the mother), and the separation between church and state.  "Intelligent" design, if not outright creationism, would likely replace evolution courses in public schools.  Institutions like the NIH would no longer be effective in facilitating research of life-saving medicine especially if the research involved stem-cells.  2012 will, for the first time in such extremes, make moderates choose between themselves, and their souls.   

In Bids to Provide Aid, Turkey Clearly Favors Iran

Israel's offer to aid Turkey in it's neighbor's time of need is not surprising, even given the cool tensions between the two. Sadly, Turkey is unlikely to publicly accept Israel's offer. According to the latest reports, only two countries have been allowed to render aid. Iran, not surprisingly is one of them.

It may be that Iran is simply investing in quake relief to Turkey in the hopes that when a quake hits Iran, Turkey will reciprocate. The two share a border in an earthquake-prone region. More likely however, Iran is using this opportunity to further cultivate and grow its newest proxy. Turkey, unfortunately, is clearly grateful for Iran's seeds, poisonous as they may be.

9/11: One American's Brief Reflection

I never need an anniversary to reflect on a particular moment in time.  The tenth anniversary is no more important (especially to those who lost loved ones) than the first or the sixteenth.  For me, not a month goes by that I don't think about that terrible day.  That said, I found myself near tears and repeatedly choked up watching the ceremony on television today.  I even got a bit choked up watching the wonderful Budweiser commercial where the Clydesdales bow their heads towards lower Manhattan, Lady Liberty, and the rising new World Trade Center in the distance.    

When I think back, the images of the planes crashing, the buildings smoking and tumbling, and the people, are as fresh in my memory today as they were when they were seared there ten years ago.  The most and awe-inspiring and iconic image I recall is of the Statue of Liberty silhouetted against the billowing cloud and debris.  This scene was in contrast to the images of death and destruction being broadcast over and over.  She was unchanged, unphased, stalwartly looking forward, raising high the torch, while a nation sat dazed and bloodied.  While arms were mustered throughout the country, she lit the way, simply as she does every day, illuminating liberty, justice, and equality.  

One day, my daughter will ask me the same questions I asked my parents when we learned, in history class, about Kennedy's assassination: Where were you? and What did you do next?  My law professor answered the second question for me.  On September 12 he informed us that we were to continue as usual, for the study of law is even more vital when faced with such monumental disregard for the law.

No one who remembers will ever forget, and those who were not yet born will certainly be taught.  Hopefully, we can all learn the true lessons of that day: the need for tolerance and respect, and of the value of human life, that had not been taught to those (or by those) who reminded us so violently, that those lessons are invaluable.              

Deligitmization of Washington

There is a potential for perpetual gridlock in Washington.  Should (or when) a Republican be elected president, and the nation recoils and elects a Democratic legislature, we could find ourselves with the same political stagnancy.  Since the congressional elections, neither Congress, nor the president, has been able to pass anything but the simplest and least controversial of measures.  This is due in part to the evaporation of a moderate base.  Eventually, states may simply decide to take matters into their own hands with regards to education, jobs, the environment, etc.  While legislators do everything they can to avoid losing the next election, including ignoring their constituents' calls for compromise and collaboration, Americans may decide they simply do not need them anymore.  If the electorate remains mired in the mud, Americans won't have any choice but to go it alone.

Rhetoric Keeps Ideas Out of Focus

It's election season (as always).  Tough words are being used by Republicans against Democrats, by Democrats against Republicans, between Republicans etc.  This is nothing new, but it remains as unfortunate as ever.  Using words like "cross-hairs", "targets", "bulls-eye", and the like appeal to our basest emotions.  This Slate article highlights some of the more choice words.  When working on such levels, we are incapable of having real dialogue.  These words are used to rally the masses, not to foster a discussion of the real problems facing our nation.  As long as we use (and by using, encourage) "tough talk", politicians keep the focus off the issues.  Either intelligent discussions are taking place behind closed doors in Washington, or the tough talk has seeped into back offices and conference rooms creating gridlock.  Only the various economic indicators will tell.     

China looking to repeat

That roar you heard was not the thunder clap of a stormy economy, it was the continuing landslide of America's dominance as a superpower. Lost amidst the din of news focused on the Dow was the launching of a Chinese aircraft carrier. Does anyone remember the last time a country (not the U.S.) floated a new multi-thousand ton enforcer of diplomacy? Be sure of two things: first no country remains an empire forever (just ask the British, Italians, Japanese, Chinese, Huns, mongrels, Persians);and no country has ever repeated after losing that status. China looks to change that trend.

What Will Tea Party Do Once Spending is Reduced to Zero?

Let us ignore for a second that the debt ceiling has been raised roughly 15 times or so over the last four presidencies with almost no fanfare.  I have some simple questions: aren't at least some of those constituents who are constantly calling for dramatic reductions in government spending beneficiaries of the very spending they are demanding be cut?  I refuse to believe that there is not a single conservative (Tea Party, Green Party, Grand Old Party, etc) who is not on medicare, medicaid, welfare, social security, a graduate of (or a parent of a student in a) public college.  Do none of them take public transportation, drive on paved side streets, or encounter properly functioning traffic signals?  Are these people somehow capable of traversing only the self-funded (and sometimes privately owned) tollways of society?

Certainly, every dollar spent by the government should be an investment, and should mean a return.  In short, however, no investment (no spending) means no return (except to a government-less stone-age). 

The debt ceiling was raised, but Majority Leader Harry Reid mentioned that no one is happy about what they got.  Judges call that a successful settlement negotiation.  Here is what FoxNews had to say about the immediate economic future: Deficit battle could result in Tea Party's dissolving

Someone please warn me when the tax shears sever the roots of the money tree, so I can be sure to stay off the roads.  Until then, fiscal responsibility should be the name of the game, but mindless (and irrational/emotional) spending cuts are just as treacherous as mindless (and irrational/emotional) spending.    

Norway tragedy solidifies terrorist v. extremist moniker

By any definition, the searing tragedy inflicted on Norway and its citizens was the work of terrorism and a sadistic terrorist.  Anders Breivik instilled fear through death and destruction in order to effectuate policy change.  Much like Timothy McVeigh, however, the word terrorist will slip off Breivik like so much water off a duck's back.  Change only Breivik's nation of origin to any Muslim nation (whether secular or not) and he's a terrorist.  Why is this important?  Terrorists are usually depicted as mindless mass murderers whose only agenda is to destroy anything and anyone who does not share their strict, barbaric, brand of Islam.  Their real motives are never investigated by the popular media, it is never suggested that they may suffer from deep mental or emotional instability, and the only people who would sympathize with them are automatically branded terrorists regardless of the fact that they have never harmed a soul in the name of their belief system.  I do not mean to endorse any terrorist's actions or motives, but be sure that labels matter.  Breivik will be referred to as an extremist (like McVeigh before him) or a "Christian fundamentalist".  As an aside, some day someone will have to explain to me what is "fundamental", in Christianity, about death and destruction.  These monikers suggests that his views are valid, legitimate, and shared by others who simply have greater control over their impulses; or who share his views, but to a lesser degree of extremity.  In other words, being labeled an extremist (or a fundamentalist) means people can share the extremist's views without being labeled extremists themselves; and they can continue to call themselves a "fundamentalist" without the stigma. The only real difference between Breivik, McVeigh, and Omar Saeed Sheikh (remember our beloved Danny Pearl) however, is their nationality.

  
Additionally, no one should be surprised when pundits (and media outletless babblers) refuse to vilify all white men for Breivik's actions (and I say this as a rather WASPY looking white man), while continuing to vilify all Muslims for Muhammad Atta's actions.  Check out this article for a review of the immediate vilification.  Both men were monstrous, both meant simply to silence those they dubbed as enemies with murder, and both valued their own messages more than they valued human life.  

Slowly developing disasters result in only a trickle of aid

It's not as if Somalia needed another tragedy to wrack its already tortured populace.  War (between Somalis and between Somalis and foreigners), strife (read al-Shabab), and civil unrest (read al-Shabab) already punish Somalis for...well being Somali.  Drought and famine now flood the basement of the world.   Unlike swift tragedies though--earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis--trickling food and water brings only a trickle of aid.  It's not that the Somalis are undeserving, but the cause of their plight fails to tug at the wallets of the rest of the world. 

Is Pakistan going to be in the cross-hairs?

Don't expect the U.S. to launch a war against Pakistan any time soon (as much as India would enjoy that).  Keep in mind, however, that terrorists freely move back and forth between Pakistan and Afghanistan, madrassas continue to sprout up along the Pak-Afghan border indoctrinating future militants, and the Pakistani government is obviously uninterested in curbing (or unable to curb) a burgeoning militancy.  Pakistan's semi-legitimate government, nuclear capability, geographic position next to an American ally, and readily available training ground (Afghanistan) make Pakistan the most secure terrorist save-haven on earth.  Not now, and not next year, but some day, an American force will strike the Pakistani regime, instead of just those it harbors.  This WSJ article may be a forecast of more immediate measures to come.

Climate change: the real human factor

While the causes of climate change (nature vs. nurture run amok) will be forever debated, there is an undeniable human factor, which, not surprisingly, makes things worse.  Not only will human food consumption increase (this alone is not really such a bad thing), but our tastes for the foods most damaging to produce will increase exponentially.  A recent Al Jazeera report quoted William Ryerson (president of the Population Institute) as saying "[as] the demand for more meat instead of grain [increases] as incomes rise, China is projected to need to import 240 million tons of food annually by the year 2030".  Land cultivated for meat is land lost for the cultivation of anything otherwise sustainable, and cattle and pigs have a tendency to release enormous amounts of methane and carbon into the atmosphere.  Is the rancorous debate about the causes of global warming as important as the (currently much quieter) debate about our overall impact on the globe as it relates to its dynamic meteorology?

Hotel maid topples curator of world economy

As a former government prosecutor, I know the power of that office all too well.  Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the latest in a short, but infamous list, of lime-light officials to fall peril to the state's truly most powerful elected official (the district attorney).    Built on little more than an elaborate story, the case against Strauss-Kahn is rapidly evaporating and it is likely that the next indictment in this case will be against the "victim" herself.  A recent Jerusalem Post article details the slow evaporation.  While I do not want to draw judgment too quickly, this case has the whiff of Duke lacrosse player aroma.  It is for this that a prosecutor's duty is to seek justice and not pursue meritless cases.  If he could, Ted Stevens would probably rush to Strauss-Kahn's side.  


A current NYT op-ed piece (Joe Nocera--NYT 7/5/11) inspired me to update this posing.  Despite the quickly deteriorating foundation for his case, D.A. Vance deserves kudos for investigating his witness, and being open about the case's problems.