Massively snipped; RTWT.
On December 22,Venezuela enacted a law granting Cuban judicial and security forces extensive police powers within Venezuela. Under the new code, Cuban officials are allowed to investigate, seize, detain, and interrogate Venezuelans and Cubans living in the Bolivarian Republic. Suspects taken into Cuban custody in Venezuela could be extradited to the island and tried there without any assurance that they would be returned to Venezuela. The Venezuelan "government" hardly seems to qualify as such.
Allowing officials in Mr. Castro's dictatorship authority to conduct police operations in Venezuela has raised concern that Venezuela is no longer safe for the 30,000 Cubans living there, especially members of the anti-Castro opposition. Ya think?
Some 27,000 Cuban doctors, teachers, sports trainers, intelligence and police officers, and other workers are currently in Venezuela, sent by Mr. Castro to help Mr. Chävez replicate in his own country many of the social and political structures of the Cuban regime. The workers receive about $15 to $20 a month from the Cuban government. Well, it's better than being in Cuba.
In exchange for the assistance Mr. Castro's regime has provided Mr. Chävez Cuba receives roughly 80,000 barrels of oil a day at significantly reduced prices and on very generous credit terms. In a setup very similar to one Castro enjoyed with the Soviet Union, a portion of the Venezuelan oil bypasses Cuba entirely and is resold immediately on the world market, with Mr. Castro pocketing the profits. Surprise, surprise.
#2
Oil for People; clever idea. But when does the UN get its cut?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 20:40 Comments ||
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#3
Cubans have been operating in Venezuela for a while now. We have Cuban "doctors", "PE trainers", "Tourism Instructors", etc. They are in every poor neighborhood indoctrinating people under the pretense of "helping" them. Ironically, Venezuelan employment rate is sky-high but apparently we need people from Cuba to perform those jobs.
With this new "edict", Chavez just makes legal a situation that has been going on for over 4 years now.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 21:44 Comments ||
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#9
I'd have Noriega call Hugo weekly
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 21:45 Comments ||
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#10
Hello, State Department? Can we have a moratorium on issuing visas to Muslims and get a bunch out real quick to the Cubans who need out of Venezuela Real Quick?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/26/2005 22:23 Comments ||
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A Latin American war could possibly break out in the next few years. Unlike what happened in the 20th century when all confrontations were caused by border disputes, this time the war could be a bloody, multinational conflict triggered by ideological reasons.
All symptoms indicate that behind that likely disaster will be the irresponsible behavior of Venezuelan President Hugo Chävez.... The recent episode with Rodrigo Granda is only a sample. Granda, a leader of Colombian communist narcoguerrillas called the FARC, was kidnapped in Caracas by Venezuelan military men [and] was one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of subversive Colombians who have obtained refuge and aid in Venezuela.
An angry Chävez asked Uribe for explanations, but it would have been more reasonable if Chävez had given the explanations, instead of demanding them. What was this sinister character doing on Venezuelan territory, invited to a semiofficial event and carrying a Venezuelan passport in his pocket? Why are communist narcoguerrillas from Colombia camped on Venezuelan territory, and why do their leaders freely enter and leave the so-called Bolivarian Republic?
Venezuela has replaced Cuba as the headquarters of the violent left. A few weeks ago, a former Peruvian Army officer, Antauro Humala, after proclaiming himself a disciple of Hugo Chävez and accompanied by several dozen insurgents, seized a couple of military installations, murdered four policemen and attempted unsuccessfully to launch a nationwide revolution.
In October 2003, Bolivian President Gonzalo Sänchez de Losada was forced to resign after a series of mass uprisings organized by radical groups apparently financed by Venezuela. At the head of the protests marched Evo Morales, an indigenous and profoundly anti-West leader of the coca growers.
Simultaneously, Chävez uses the river of petrodollars that is pouring into the country, as a result of rising fuel prices, to strengthen his army's offensive capability. Pending is the purchase of 50 MiG-29 warplanes from Russia, along with a large number of tanks, helicopters and armored vehicles.
The purpose of so much materiel is easy to guess: an eventual confrontation with Colombia, intended not only to liquidate Uribe's ''oligarchic and pro-United States'' government but also to initiate the reconstruction of the Greater Colombia (including Ecuador), the grand homeland sought unsuccessfully by Simón BolÃÂvar in the first half of the 19th century.
But this dangerous imperial Bolivarian dream has another, even more-dangerous detour: a war against Chile, intended to destroy that bastion of ``neoliberalism.''
Whether governed by the Christian Democrats or the Social Democrats (as it is led today by Ricardo Lagos), Chile is seen as a threat by the left because of its defense of free markets, democracy and free international commerce.
The left does not forgive Chile for its Free Trade Agreement with the United States or similar accords it has signed with the European Union and Japan; or for the success of the liberal style of government that has led to a reduction in poverty, from 42 percent to 18 percent, in 14 years of democracy, while Chile moved to the head of Latin America.
#1
Don't know this journalist, but his thesis is quite plausible. The Andean states are basket cases, ripe for subversion, and Chavez has the cash, the will and the loyal cadres to foment it.
Everyone likes to talk about a big new role for Brazil in world affairs. Here's that nation's chance to show some responsibility and wisdom by reining in the idiotarian caudillo to the north.
#2
This thing will blow before Mt. Saint Helen's. US intervention by end of year, 2005.
Posted by: Hillary Clinton ||
01/26/2005 19:09 Comments ||
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#3
Brazil will be an ally of Chavez, not an enemy.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 19:19 Comments ||
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#4
I am glad to see the Administration and regular Americans are taken an interest on this very dangerous man. From the start of his presidency he has repeatly talked about reviving Simon Bolivar's dream: La Gran Colombia.
Venezuela's president, Hugo Chävez, has been accused of assisting Colombian guerrillas and funding opposition political parties in Bolivia.
James Hill, the recently retired head of the US army's southern command, which oversees military operations in Latin America, said the Venezuelan leader was allowing Farc, a leftwing Colombian guerrilla group, to establish training camps in his country.
He also said the Bolivian opposition leader, Evo Morales, is receiving funds from Mr Chävez as Bolivia faces a series of strikes and blockades that threaten its stability.
The accusation comes days after Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state designate, called Mr Chävez "deeply troubling" at her Senate confirmation hearing.
Ms Rice's comment followed a dispute between Venezuela and Colombia which broke out after it was revealed that Rodrigo Granda, a senior Farc leader, had been kidnapped from Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, by bounty hunters and taken to Bogota, the capital of Colombia.
But General Hill's comments about Venezuela's influence in Bolivia may prove just as damaging. He told the Miami Herald: "It is quite proven that he gave money to Evo Morales... and continues to do so."
Mr Morales is expected to win an election if the president, Carlos Mesa, were to go. Mr Mesa is facing political pressure because leaders in Santa Cruz, the country's second biggest city and economic centre, want to set up an autonomous government.
The city feels it is contributing a disproportionate amount of money to maintain the poorer parts of the country, and is demanding that recent rises in diesel and gas prices be revoked.
Although Mr Morales is not involved in the Santa Cruz crisis his party, Mas, is fuelling opposition to the president and calling for nationwide demonstrations against the government next Monday. Privately, there is an admission that more radical actions could follow in a couple of months when major legislation will be discussed in parliament.
According to a leading Bolivian opposition figure, Mr Morales radicalised his thinking as a result of the negative results of an opinion poll commissioned and paid for by the Venezuelans last year.
Mr Morales then met Mr Chävez in December, when it was suggested to him that he change his strategy and become more radical to control the constituent assembly that will be convened next August.
When asked by the Guardian about the Venezuelan poll, Mr Morales said: "I don't care about polls nor pollsters." He added: "Chävez definitely provides us with political support. He has taught us how to fight the American empire and how to turn the ruling elite into the opposition, and for that we admire him, but he doesn't support us economically."
He said: "Chävez isn't financing us. The only thing he has given is some money to pave a road in La Paz and some loans for education."
However, a senior Mas source said: "The Venezuelans planted doubts in us last December. They said we should ensure control over the constituent assembly before it convenes [next summer] so that the resulting constitution is the one we want, the same way Chävez did in Venezuela."
According to this source, "Evo definitely wants to gain power and import our version of Chävez's Bolivarian revolution to Bolivia."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 1:53:40 AM ||
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#1
This Venz thing is really heating up. Chivez cozying up to Iran and China, offering up advantageous oil contracts while punishing US oil companies. Now his aiding and abetting Columbian guerrillas.
Posted by: Duke Nukem ||
01/26/2005 9:19 Comments ||
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#2
Dont forget his selling Venz passports to Al-Q and other terrorists organizations.
Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili will use avisit to the Council of Europe today to unveil proposals to give broad autonomy to South Ossetia, in an effort to end a long-running conflict with the breakaway region.
Mr Saakashvili plans to offer a power-sharing arrangement that will give South Ossetia full responsibility for education and cultural policy and public order issues, as well as guarantees on its language. The central government in Tbilisi would be responsible for security and defence, foreign policy and fiscal policy.
The proposals are crucial to Mr Saakashvili's plans to restore Georgia's territorial integrity without antagon-ising Russia at a time of increasing tensions between the two former Soviet republics.
South Ossetia, on Georgia's northern border, has enjoyed de facto independence from Georgia, backed by Russia, since an earlier conflict in 1991-92. Violence flared again last year after Mr Saakashvili took power on a pledge to restore central authority to his fragmented country.
The Georgian president says today's proposals, involving a shift to a more federal structure for the country, represent a compromise on his original intentions.
"Of course it is a compromise," he said. "We want to do this peacefully, and there is a price to be paid for that."
But Eduard Kokoity, South Ossetia's president, yesterday gave the plan a chilly reception.
"Mr Saakashvili can't understand that the train left the station a long time ago," he said. "South Ossetia's status was decided by its people in a referendum in 1995."
Georgia accuses Russia of encouraging breakaway movements in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as part of its efforts to preserve Russian influence there.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated since Russia moved to abolish monitoring of the Russia-Georgia border by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, designed to maintain peace in the volatile north Caucasus, from the beginning of this year.
The monitoring was also aimed at keeping rebels from neighbouring Chechnya from crossing into Georgia's Pankisi gorge, which Russia has accused them of using as a base.
Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia's foreign minister, said her country was deeply concerned about Russia's hawkish rhetoric towards Georgia. She said abolition of OSCE monitoring left the country more exposed to pressure from Russia.
She said Georgia was surprised by Russia's contradictory statements about the monitoring. Russia initially argued that the OSCE mission, which began in 2000, had achieved its objectives and was no longer needed, but later said it was ineffective and had failed to prevent the movement of rebels.
Russian foreign ministry officials accused Georgia of providing safe haven for Chechen terrorists, and said 250-300 rebels were hiding in the Pankisi gorge.
"We have repeatedly told the Russians that the Pankisi gorge is clear. We have asked Russia to provide us with specific information if they have it. We even offered to them to come and inspect it with us," Ms Zurabishvili said.
She said Georgia was looking for new partners - possibly the European Union - to monitor the border.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/26/2005 12:39:46 AM ||
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Wall Street Journal. Given in full.
China's leaders may have convinced themselves that the country's relatively new, albeit unbalanced, material prosperity will be enough to keep an uneasy population from peering into some of the darker corners of the country's Communist history. And the popular reaction (or lack thereof) to purged former leader Zhao Ziyang's death last week appears to prove them right at first glance. The relative tranquility does make it appear as if young Chinese, intoxicated by the opportunities of China's dizzying economic growth, don't really understand -- or care -- about what really happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989, or why Zhao's sympathies with the student protesters led to his downfall.
But that is not exactly the case. Increased access to information through the Internet, which is just one of the many fruits of China's development, is producing a predicament for China's leadership. China's pragmatic leaders undoubtedly saw allowing widespread access to the Internet as necessary for growth, but hoped to rein in its power by using firewalls to block "unsavory" information. But the Internet has only endowed citizens with a heightened awareness of the amount of information that is being blocked.
When Zhao died last week, his passing was mostly observed in silence. State media played down the death, if it was reported at all, and relevant Web sites were often either sterilized or blocked entirely. But some Chinese, rather than quietly observe the systematic blockage of news, turned to the few tools at their disposal, and used the Internet to both obtain and spread information. The Internet, in fact, served as a forum for Chinese to congregate and express their mourning or, more often, frustration. While many Chinese went online to pay their respects to Zhao, the anger and sadness on these sites often had little to do with the man who died. Comments extracted and translated from discussions on mainland-accessible Chinese-language Web sites in the days following Zhao's death showcase a collective lament for the limits on freedom of information in China today.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 7:30:12 AM ||
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French President Jacques Chirac called for an "experimental" international tax to help fund the war against AIDS, suggesting it could be raised via a levy on airline tickets, some fuels or financial transactions. After all its only the camel's nose we are letting into the tent.....
In a speech via video link to political and business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos, he said at least 10 billion dollars (7.7 billion euros) a year was needed -- up from six billion annually now -- to stem the spread of the disease. They are having their meeting in a exclusive swiss RESORT while asking for more money? Does anyone else see anything fishy here?
Chirac, prevented from flying to the World Economic Forum here through poor weather, said that despite huge efforts so far, "we are failing in the face of this terrible pandemic." I mean how can we afford to have more forums at exclusive resorts if we dont have a tax?
He suggested options including: a "contribution" on international financial transactions, a tax on aviation and maritime fuel, a tax on capital movements in or out of countries which practised banking secrecy, or a "small levy" such as a dollar on the three billion airline tickets sold every year.
"What is striking about these examples," Chirac said, "is the disproportion between the modest efforts required and the benefits everyone would reap from them."
The president said developed countries should also create tax incentives to stimulate private donations to charity.
Chirac acknowledged that his proposal would be widely debated, an allusion to US opposition to any international tax, and said there was "no question" of treading on each country's right to set its own levies.
"But there is nothing to prevent states from cooperating and coming to an understanding on new resources and their allocation to a common cause," Chirac added.
He said a tax on international financial transactions would be implemented sparingly and at a very low rate and would not be an obstacle to normal market operations. It could raise 10 billion dollars a year, he went on. After all its only the Nose, not the whole camel....
A levy on capital movements would partially compensate for the consequences of tax evasion which damaged the poorest countries, and would be allocated to development.
The fuel tax would apply to air and sea transport and effectively end the current exemption regime. Any bets the UN would be exempt from this tax?
Meanwhile, a small levy on plane tickets would not compromise the economic balance of the aviation sector, the president said.
Two years ago Chirac also raised the possibility of an international tax to help the fight against AIDS, but gave few details, while he has several times extolled the idea to help combat the negative effects of globalisation
#4
I'll write him a check but he'll have to deposit it with a tennis raquet.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2005 16:20 Comments ||
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#5
If it's such a good idea, you would think that the French people would be more than willing to have a tax increase to raise the meagre amount of $15B that he wants. It's such a good cause and all. And besides, the world *obviously* doesn't want the US's money, because they are always trashing us at the world AIDS conferences. I mean, you don't attack somebody then seriously ask for them to give you money any other time, do you?
#10
Didn't we fight a war over taxation without representation?
Yeah, but that's only because the British neglected to couch their demands in moralistic terms. Had taxation of the colonists been justified on the basis of "feeding all the people in the world", we would have been a bunch of selfish, whiny poopyheads instead of freedom-fighters, wouldn't we?
#11
An international tax does two things. (1) It allows the UN to take credit for giving the money out (2) It hides the fact that one or two countries would be paying the bulk of such a tax.
Oh, and what good would it do when we know what caused infection and still can't get folks to use protection? Maybe we can keep the infected alive longer but I'm not sure we can do anything to stop the rate of infection without putting a few bullets into a few world leaders (and at least one Noble Prize winner) who spread rumors and nonesense about the origin of AIDs.
The UN transnationals could not get their claws on US taxpyer $ through Kyoto, so they're trying the "compassionate" angle and I hate to say it but we have a willing victim sitting in the Oval Office this very minute. The transies may get this to fly with GWB with enough pink ribbons and bows.
Anyways, let's face it AIDS is not a reult of poverty. It's caused by promiscuity, by self-directed, self-destructive behavior.
How much "education" or how much money does it take for a person either living in Bel Air or South Africa to realize that keeping zippers up and panties on are the best deterents to getting AIDS?
I'm compassioned out about AIDS "victims" these days. How much compassion do we show fat people or cigarette smokers with regards to their self-destructive behavior? Both these groups are virtual pariahs in our society, not pitied ad nauseam. We give these 2 groups a kick in the pants and tell them it's all about poor self-control. With regards to cigarette smoking, tough love appears to be working. With regards to obesity, people are becoming more self conscious about undisciplined eating habits and laziness and are are trying to change their life styles.
I don't understand why AIDS is such a cosmic everyman problem. It's a problem related to individual excesses and I think we need to re-think the whole pity them/it's not their fault goo goo head thinking because AIDS is increasing not decreasing with the compassionate approach. I think some tough love is in order.
Seems the Oil-for-Food (better known as Money-for-Saddam) was couched in goody-good humanitarian causes. Seems Frenchy had a bank called BP that collected funds. Seems Frenchy had a staff member prominently listed on the scandal sheet. Seems Chirac wants to pontificate a self aggrandizing program and have others pay the bill.
There isn't a moralistic bone is Chirac's pruney body.
No taxation without representation. Them's fighting words.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/26/2005 18:32 Comments ||
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#14
"Oh, and what good would it do when we know what caused infection and still can't get folks to use protection?"
-that's it in a nutshell. I agree w/2xs as well. Those who stupidly yet willingly engage in self destructive behavior don't get much sympathy from me either. I've no compassion for anyone in my generation who took up cigarette smoking. My friends and I were told ad nauseum about the evils of cigarettes as well as unprotected sex all through the 80s&90s. I'm a big believer in personal responsibility.
#15
where's Joe Mendiola with his OWG (One World Gov't)? This is indeed the proverbial camel's nose. Shoot it with a 2nd amendment protected firearm. F*&k off, Jacques and Kofi
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 19:01 Comments ||
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#16
I always figured Jacques was a OWG Betty Crockercrat..
#17
The problem I have is that this would set a precedent which the U.N. would most likely follow with all sorts of 'compassion taxes' on all sorts of things. Taxes to allow bigger more exlusive luncheons end world hunger. A Tax for the UN 5-star catering service the Tsuimi(sp) disaster. A tax here... a tax there... Everywhere a Koffi tax....
Yes some people who have AIDS got it by transfusion or some other involunterary method but the vast-vast majority did so by their own actions. I used to be a smoker and didn't expect anyone else to pay for my smoking.
This is just another form of Oil-For-Palaces-and-Bribes..
#19
Chiraq has GREAT ideas for spending other people's money. Tell him to talk to Kofi and the UN ought to be able to cough up some Oil for Palaces money......if they have not spent it all yet. FOAD, Chiraq.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/26/2005 21:23 Comments ||
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#4
The Chinese are now outdoing the French in currency manipulation. Bwahahahaha.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 18:42 Comments ||
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#5
I found the story to have alot of humor.
China will not float it's currency.
The truth is the Euro cant compete even with a weak dollar. Their goods are overpriced due to the nany state taxation they have to support. A weak dollar isn't all bad. The fact is the US buys and sells more than Europe can or will even in weak dollars. Central banks should be holding a mix of currencies not just dollars or euros.
EFL: MoveOn.org, the online liberal advocacy group, threw its weight into the race for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship by announcing a plan Tuesday for state-by-state endorsements from its nearly 3 million members. The move is expected to help chairman candidate Howard Dean, who finished first in a 2003 straw poll of MoveOn members during his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Go, Howie, go!
The plan also reflects MoveOn's determination to institutionalize its influence over within the Democratic Party. Founded to protest President Clinton's impeachment in 1998, the group has become one of the party's most farout wacko influential liberal voices, and most effective fundraisers, on a wide range of issues. Dean is generally considered the front-runner in a DNC race that also includes former Reps. Martin Frost of Texas and Tim Roemer of Indiana, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, party operative Donnie Fowler, former Ohio party Chairman David Leland, and Simon Rosenberg, president of the centrist New Democrat Network. On Tuesday, the former Vermont governor won the support of several African American members of the DNC — Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who heads the committee's black caucus; Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois; and Minyon Moore, a former Clinton White House aide.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 12:20:38 PM ||
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#1
"...Minyon Moore, a former Clinton White House aide."
#2
This DU Article shows how out of touch the Dems really have become. You'll notice that every time a law is passed against gay marriage a judge overturns the will of the people. These are presented as "progress" with voters. I am not sure if I would join a party that likes to overturn my vote at the ballot, it sounds too much like the National Socialist in 1939 and the Commies in 1917. They also swoon over the fact that the didn't lose any solidly Democratic seats to Republicans and that several Right leaning Dems got elected.
#8
I still love the answer given by the woman who, when asked who she was going to vote for, said, "I like that nice man, you know, the Dean of Howard College".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2005 15:39 Comments ||
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#9
I nominate Ted Turner for DNC Chairman. Howlin' Howie isn't crazy enough.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/26/2005 15:52 Comments ||
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#10
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
Posted by: Hillary Clinton ||
01/26/2005 19:13 Comments ||
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A document examiner involved in the flawed "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on George W. Bush's National Guard service claims that he was defamed and his reputation damaged by the recent report from an independent review panel that investigated the show's reporting practices, E&P has learned. Marcel Matley, one of four document experts consulted by CBS News while reporting its Sept. 8, 2004, report on Bush, is demanding a slew of corrections in the report, which was issued earlier this month. In an interview with E&P, he referred to the report's treatment of him as "defamation."
I love the smell of lawsuits in the morning.....
The independent review panel, headed by former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former Associated Press CEO Louis Boccardi, found mistakes in the network's efforts to authenticate documents on which the report was based and determined that CBS had rushed the report to air too quickly. In an e-mail to Thornburgh's office on Jan. 13, obtained by E&P, Matley criticized the report as containing "certain incorrect statements affecting me and which are derogatory and/or damaging to me professionally." He also asks that the panel issue corrections for each of the errors he contends are in the report and distribute the corrections.
"It is professional defamation," Matley, a 20-year document expert, told E&P, from his home in San Francisco. "When you are in a court of law, it can make the difference between being considered credible or not." He said the report has already hurt his professional reputation, claiming it was mentioned last week during his appearance in a Modesto, Calif., courtroom on a probate case. "Someone brought it up that I was the one who made the mistake in the '60 Minutes' case," he said. "I've already had this thrown at me." Matley told E&P he had yet to hear back from CBS or Thornburgh about the e-mail. "They have not acknowledged my existence," he declared. "They have not even replied."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
01/26/2005 10:24:58 AM ||
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#1
I love the lawsuit angle and I also like that this report (sic) is far from final. I want CBS, 60 minutes, Dan Rather, and Mapes brought up on Federal elections tampering charges. I know it won't happen but I would love to see Rathers final act come from a court bench where he has to admit he didn't know anything.
Veteran political strategist Bob Shrum, who most recently advised John Kerry during his failed bid for the presidency, will join the NYU Wagner School of Public Service as a senior fellow on Feb. 1. Shrum said his move to academia was not motivated by his candidate's loss to George W. Bush. "I would have been inclined to do it if Kerry had won, because I had no desire to go the White House," said Shrum, 61. "I would never lobby." Right.
"If nominated, I would not run. If elected...like hell I would!"
This spring Shrum will focus on doing research on modern politics and preparing his classes, which will include a graduate course for Wagner students and a freshman honors seminar. He will not start teaching until fall 2005. Lifelong friend and now boss NYU president John Sexton...call[ed] Shrum "a wonderful thinker, a truly gifted writer, and a good man," Sexton said he was "particularly struck by his eagerness -- insistence, really -- on teaching undergraduates each year."
"Especially the pretty ones."
Shrum should have ample material for his classes. At the age of 9, he volunteered for presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson's campaign. Although his primary tasks included general office work, he was not allowed to answer the phone because he sounded too young. obligatory tee hee Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Is he going to teach "Introduction to Losing Elections" or is it more of a graduate-level seminar on losing elections?
#2
no --he's going to teach "networking with old friends to get jobs for losers"--based on his textbook "the idiot's guide to ineffective stridency based on stale ideas"
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
01/26/2005 2:29 Comments ||
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#3
"...he plans to honor his commitment to advise Sen. John Corzine, D-N.J., who plans to run for governor this year."
#4
Running for Governer doesn't appear to be as hard as running for President. You only have to fool a majority of people in your State whereas running for President you have to fool a majority of the whole country.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2005 12:22 Comments ||
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#5
What a dream for the Republicans, Dean for DNC chairman and Schrum as the go-to advisor for presidential candidates. I wish them both very long careers.
#6
true, Deacon, but Governors have to - voila!-govern. Create budgets, cut compromises, seek voters on the other side, etc...that's why Senators suck as candidates (except Hillary, of course, we know she doesn't suck....) - all they do is create track records of bills and votes...unless, like Kerry, they avoid both by not showing up....I guess....er... I was wrong?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 22:48 Comments ||
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Sixty years after the world learned that bored Germans flung Jewish babies into the air for target practice at the Auschwitz death camp, our oily pals at the United Nations have officially acknowledged the Holocaust.
Enjoy it quickly, because if yesterday was any indication, the anti-American, anti-Semitic rats infesting the banks of the East River — a species alternately known as the "French," "Germans" and "Libyans," among others — will forget the lessons of Auschwitz, or just insist the camp didn't exist.
Only one man spoke the truth about anti-Semitism.
But that man was not Israeli or American, but Italian. Who knew?
The U.N. yesterday took the unprecedented step of inviting concentration-camp survivors, liberators and the Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel for the purpose of shouting, "Never again."
Perhaps they should have whispered, "Maybe later."
Seats in the General Assembly were half-full. Jordan and Afghanistan were the only Arab governments whose reps spoke.
And then Marcello Pera, speaker of the Italian Senate, spoke up.
"We have an obligation to admit that anti-Semitism is still with us," Pera said. "Today, it also feeds on such subtle and insidious distinctions as are often made between Israel and the Jewish state, Israel and its governments, Zionism and Semitism. Or, it crops up when the struggle for life led by the Israelis is labeled 'state terrorism.' "
Even Europe's Constitutional Treaty cannot make reference to the continent's Judeo-Christian roots, he railed.
"If we believe that our core values are no better than others; if we start thinking that the cost of defending them is too high; if we give in to the blackmail or fear, then we have no more instruments to counter the anti-Jewish racism which continues to poison us than we have to counter the fundamentalist and terrorist racism which puts peaceful co-existence at risk."
Now political correctness prevents us from speaking the truth. How, then, will we prevent history from repeating itself?
Next year in Italy.
Posted by: tipper ||
01/26/2005 2:04:05 AM ||
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#1
FORZA ITALIA!!
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
01/26/2005 2:58 Comments ||
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#2
Never realized I liked Italians so much . . . they'ra kinda wacky, but you can find a really good one here and there.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 7:09 Comments ||
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#3
The New York Post sure does hate the United Nations. No accusations are too outlandish. Everything, including the kitchen sink, gets thrown.
The UN still hasn't condemned frying babies in hot oil. That probably means that the UN supports it.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/26/2005 8:37 Comments ||
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#4
What's your point, Mikey? Or are you just riding to the defense of your beloved dictators club?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/26/2005 9:57 Comments ||
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Indonesia hopes to dispel concerns about official corruption in relief operations by announcing each month the amount of money it receives in foreign donations and wherethe funds are being spent, the government said on Tuesday. Indonesia is one of the world's most graft-ridden nations. Aid for disaster relief elsewhere in the country has regularly gone missing in the past, allegedly into the hands of corrupt local officials. "We will announce every month, on the 26th, the money we receive," said Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab, who is in charge of the country's relief effort. "We will list down all contributions and where it is going to avoid anysuspicion (of graft)." Indonesia was the worst affected of 11 Indian Ocean nations that were hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami. More than 110,000 people were killed in the country and tens of thousands are still missing.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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My goodness...all that transparency could become a habit,or even an expectation, if they aren't careful.
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
01/26/2005 3:04 Comments ||
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#3
Hey, ya know, I could go down and show them some neat tricks on how to make accounting errors in their favor. But they could probably teach me a few things in that regard. This is not transparency, but carfully crafted deceit. I can SAY anything about where the money goes, but where the checks are actually being delivered is another story. False front companies, anyone?
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 7:12 Comments ||
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true, Jame, but knowing how much came in does increase transparency. All donors will want to see their names and amounts given on the list. If they really intend to do that, it forces the thiefs to launder it with overcharges, false purchases etc., rather than just steal it, making it that much harder and leaving a better money trail for gross theft.
Future explorers on the Moon and Mars could be outfitted in lightweight, high-tech spacesuits that offer far more flexibility than the bulky suits that have been used for spacewalks in the 1960s.
Research is under way at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a Bio-Suit System that incorporates a suit designed to augment a person's biological skin by providing mechanical counter-pressure. The "epidermis" of such a second skin could be applied in spray-on fashion in the form of an organic, biodegradable layer.
This coating would protect an astronaut conducting a spacewalk in extremely dusty planetary environments. Incorporated into that second skin would be electrically actuated artificial muscle fibers to enhance human strength and stamina.
The Bio-Suit System could embody communications equipment, biosensors, computers, even climbing gear for spacewalks or what NASA calls an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA).
"When we get back to the Moon and on Mars, we're not going there to stay in a habitat," said Dava Newman, professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems here at MIT. "EVA becomes 
a primary function," she said.
Newman is leading the Bio-Suit System work, assisted by researchers Kristen Bethke, Christopher Carr, Nicole Jordan, and Liang Sim in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems. The study is multi-pronged and is intended to better calibrate astronaut performance, explore improvements to current spacesuit designs and generate novel ideas for a new generation of space exploration suits.
The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, headquartered in Atlanta, is sponsoring the Bio-Suit System effort.
"We need to shrink-wrap the astronaut," Newman said. "It would be like wearing a second skin."
The Bio-Suit System, Newman said, would provide life support through mechanical counter pressure where pressure is applied to the entire body through a tight-fitting suit with a pressurized helmet for the head. Ongoing research is targeted at understanding, simulating, and predicting capabilities of suited astronauts in a variety of scenarios — be they performing simple motions or more complex movement, such as overhead or cross-body reach, stepping up, or trudging across an exotic landscape.
The scenario envisioned by Newman and her associates is an astronaut first donning his or her customized elastic Bio-Suit layer. Then a hard torso shell would be slipped on, sealed via couplings located at the hips. A portable life support system is then attached mechanically to the hard torso shell and provides gas counter pressure. Gas pressure would flow freely into the wearer's helmet and down tubes on the bio-suit layer to the gloves and boots...
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2005 13:58 ||
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#1
What's so difficult about changing the names to protect your sources? The journo/editor dropped the ball on this one, and the club adviser didn't notice to pick it up. An article about teen homosexuals, outing individuals to the school population, is a set-up for real problems later.
#2
tw, I personally don't think this is the type of story for a High School paper but then I went to High School back in the '60s when being gay was dangerous. I blame the advisor for tis though, not the author of the article.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/26/2005 20:04 Comments ||
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EFL:
"I just started shooting," said Gloria Doster, 56. "I was trying to blow his brains out is what I was trying to do."
You go girl!
Shoats Grocery & Package near Crawford, 70 miles east of Atlanta, is a well-known spot where locals stop for breakfast biscuits or lunch. Gloria Doster said the two men who came there Monday had something else in mind. She was rearranging boxes of soda by the store's front door when a man wearing a wig walked inside, the fake hair draped in front of his face. "I asked him, 'Can you see to walk?"' Doster said. Then she noticed a second man behind him wearing a mask. He announced a holdup. One man grabbed Gloria Doster and pushed her toward the register. She said the other kept his gun on her 62-year-old husband, who also goes by the name Shoats. She said she tried to open the register, but one of the men told her she wasn't moving fast enough and tried to shoot her husband. He missed -- and his gun jammed.
Say goodbye, asshole...
At that point, Bobby Doster pulled out a .380-caliber handgun and shot one of the suspects. Gloria Doster then went for a 9 mm pistol she keeps near the register. "All hell broke loose," she said. "I was trying to shoot and dial 911 at the same time."
Shoot first, dial later
Both suspects took cover behind the store's meat counter as the Dosters opened fire. Gloria Doster said she doesn't know how many bullets were fired, or how many times the suspects were hit.
Enough, it seems
Police arrived about five minutes after receiving Gloria Doster's call; the suspects died a short time later at a hospital.
Scratch two goblins..
Posted by: Don ||
01/26/2005 11:17 ||
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The armed suspect and his partner were killed. The Dosters won't be charged, according to local officials, because they were acting in self-defense.
#5
LOL BH. After this gets out I doubt the Dosters will ever have any other malcontents showing up at their store. Peace through superior firepower I always say. Oh and one more thing -f*ck all gun control pussies.
#6
careful JH - I'm a firm believer in gun control: "hit what you aimed at"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 21:42 Comments ||
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#7
your right Frank, I should've qualified with:
two hands on the weapon, clear sight picture, proper breathing control, slow trigger squeeze - now that's good gun control. Oh and one more thing - f*ck all anti-2nd Amendment pussies.
From the Wall Street Journal, appears on page A16 of the dead tree version. Submitted in full.
In our continuing quest to save readers' time, we suggest you skip all of those alarmist stories in today's newspapers about the latest federal budget deficit estimates. They will have you believing that the feds are starved for cash, which defies everything we've ever learned about the way government works.
All you really need to know about the latest Congressional Budget Office figures is contained in the nearby chart. Fred, could you fetch the chart from the web page? It didn't copy along with the text. And I'm the apocryphal end-user, so there's no point in me trying -- I'm more likely to crash the entire world wide web than to actually succeed. Thanks! The darker bars at the bottom measure the annual budget deficit as a share of the U.S. economy, showing that it will steadily decline throughout the rest of this decade. From 3.6% of GDP in the 2004 fiscal year, the deficit will fall steadily to an insignificant 0.5% of GDP in 2011, assuming continued economic growth.
We realize these CBO estimates don't include future spending on the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. But as CBO points out, revenues are expected to grow rapidly over the decade, especially in individual income taxes. The progressive nature of the U.S. tax code means that, as growth raises incomes, more and more people are pushed into higher tax brackets, even if President Bush's tax cuts are made permanent.
Budget estimates beyond the current year are always a guess, and CBO's is hardly more educated than others, but the larger point of these numbers is that with even a modicum of spending restraint the federal deficit will fall back to zero over the next few years.
The other thing to know is revealed in the lighter bars in the chart, which show debt held by the public as a share of GDP. This is the most telling measure of the federal debt burden because it indicates a country's ability to service that debt. And the chart shows the U.S. burden staying more or less constant through this decade despite the fact that annual deficits will add to the total amount of debt.
Even at 38.6% of GDP in 2006, debt held by the public would remain well below the 49.4% level hit in 1993, the most recent peak year. And it would also be well below the general government debt burden in Germany (51.9% of GDP), France (42.7%) and especially spendthrift Japan (79.3%), according to statistics from Bear, Stearns & Co. Compared with other industrial nations, in short, the U.S. is in strong fiscal shape.
Bear, Stearns economist David Malpass adds the cheeky point that, despite its high debt burden, Japanese interest rates are close to zero. This would tend to refute the claim -- made so often by politicians who want to raise taxes -- that deficits cause higher interest rates. Robert Rubin, call your press agent.
This bit is important: It is also true that these debt figures do not include the future liabilities for Medicare and Social Security that politicians have promised. But Congressman John Spratt (D., S.C.) and other self-described "deficit hawks" could raise taxes beyond their wildest dreams and never raise enough revenue to pay for those promises. The only way to reduce those liabilities is to reform those entitlement programs -- for example, with private Social Security accounts that will build wealth over time. Any politician who moans about the "deficit" or the "national debt" and opposes entitlement reform is really arguing for a tax increase.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 7:41:39 AM ||
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Thanks for the read, I have been trying to enlight people harping about the U.S. budget deficit that there is a reason that in the U.S. press we are always shown the Dollar-amount and not the actual percentage.
#4
The chart also doesn't reflect the future costs of the WOT (currently running what, about $80B a year?) and the revenue impact of making the last four rounds of tax cuts permanent (originally passed with 10 year sunsets which aren't likely to occur). Even with all that factored in, though, the percent of GDP news is pretty good.
#5
The chart also doesn't reflect the future costs of the WOT (currently running what, about $80B a year?) and the revenue impact of making the last four rounds of tax cuts permanent (originally passed with 10 year sunsets which aren't likely to occur). Even with all that factored in, though, the percent of GDP news is pretty good.
The chart isn't likely to show the impact of not vigerously fighting the WoT.
A picture of an exploding bomb would suffice.
The chart doesn't show the recent paydown of the deficit by virtue of increased revenues by stimulating the economy with massive tax cuts.
Posted by: Hillary Clinton ||
01/26/2005 19:05 Comments ||
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#6
I'm not an economist, but from what I've read it's a bit misleading to cite the Federal Government's debt as a percentage of GDP. Only our government's revenues can be used to pay down the debt.
Also our country is suffering from twin deficits -we also have significant trade deficits and inspite of our devalued dollar which should have helped selling more of our goods and services abroad. A devalued dollar without trade benefits is bad. We are forced to sell more Treasury bonds to countries like China and Japan. If they start increasing the interest rates on the money they have loaned us, we could be screwed.
Look it's all well and good to call this occupation of Iraq as a WOT, but unless this Admin. cuts its spending, foreign investors could give two hoots whether or not Iraqis vote or Afghans have a soccer game with soccer balls instead of human heads. It's the bottom line that counts, and investors are looking at us as an increasingly bad risk for re-paying the debt we are accumulating with them.
Important, shocking-to-me fact:
[E]arly sex is not usually "good sex" or even "safe sex." Of those teens who have sexual relations, a significant majority report dissatisfaction and disappointment with the experience. Especially for teen girls, "safer sex" is not often emotionally safe. In fact, when asked, the vast majority of sexually experienced girls say they wished they had waited. According to a 2000 poll by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, nearly two-thirds of teens who initiated sexual activity said they wished they had delayed their decision. Among girls, the results were striking: 72 percent of girls wished they had waited.
Another fact:
[I]n the recent CDC research, nearly 40 percent of teens said they avoided sex because of religious reasons.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The most laughable aspect of teen sex is how uneven it is. First of all, across the board, relatively few teens are sexually active: however, they *think*, and are propagandized to believe, that *most* of their peers are active, and they are among the few who aren't. And that they are *abnormal* because they aren't. But among those that are sexually active, the vast majority are of several types (or a combination of these): financial poverty; parents who themselves had sex, drugs and alcohol at a young age; broken homes; latchkey kids; and victims of molestation. The irony of this is that the kids who are most responsive to all forms of warning about teen sex, are the *least* likely to being having teen sex anyway.
#11
No, Mrs. D, shocking because such a large number of sexually active kids are unhappy about the choice they made. Exercising one's sexuality should be such a joyous, as well as pleasurable, act, and somehow so many kids are managing to deprive themselves of that. Although, clearly, significantly fewer than before. For context, the editors cut the majority of the article, which was about the downward trend in the number of sexually active teens since the 1980s. The bits they kept were actually incidental to the thrust of the article.
But where on earth did you get the idea that I believe the MSM and watch TV news? At Rantburg, them's fighting words ;-)
#12
I got the idea from you being shocked that teen-age sexual activity was continuing its downward trend. Read Generations, the History of America's Future and you'll see that it was to be expected. The M$M kept peddling the story of teenage promiscuity long after it was history because it fit their world view and sex sells.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 20:29 Comments ||
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#13
That looks interesting, Mrs. D. Thanks, I've added it to my ever lengthening list. At this rate, Mr. Wife isn't going to be able to afford any of the expensive pretties he thinks he wants to gift me -- for quite a few years to come ;-) On the other hand, we can hope my conversation will be more interesting!
Okay, then you think of a better title for this! Hat-tip Instapundit
The Anglosphere Challenge to the Political Left
"People who define themselves primarily as members of collective entities, whether families, religions, racial or ethnic groups, political movements, or even corporations, cannot be the basis of a civil society. Individuals must be free to dissociate themselves from such collectivities without prejudice and reaffiliate with others in a civil society. Societies that place individuals under the permanent discipline of inherited or assigned collectivities, and permanently bind them into such, remain bogged down in family favoritism, ethnic, racial, or religious factionalism, or systems such as the 'crony capitalism' which has marked in particular East Asia and Latin America."
-- James C. Bennett, The Anglosphere Challenge
The long first chapter of writer James C. Bennett's new book, "The Anglosphere Challenge," is a fascinating combination of cultural anthropology and technological prognostication. It led me to reflect on a number of issues.
1) Our Anglospheric culture, as Bennett calls it, enables people to form and break relationships easily. In economist's terms, the costs of entry and exit are low.
2) The ability to formulate and dissolve partnerships is very important in the real world of business, yet it receives relatively little attention in business school, much less in economics.
3) In the 1960's and 1970's, a book with the ambition, scope, and intellectual power of The Anglosphere Challenge would have been written by an academic.
4) Today's political Left is focused on group solidarity rather than on building a coalition.
What Causes Prosperity and Democracy?
In Learning Economics, I raise the question What Causes Prosperity?. Bennett answers that economic prosperity and political freedom/democracy both stem from what he calls "civil society." By this, he means the networks of associations that people form, reminiscent of de Tocqueville's observation and so forth
A long article, but very interesting. And another addition to my books I want list.
Books, bad. Rantburg, good. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Unfortunately, his first point seems to be translating over real well into personal relationships especially in regards to marriage.
#2
The costs are psychic more than economic, Jarhead. The children of the divorce generation are well aware of this,having been the ones who paid the highest price, and considerably more careful about making and breaking commitments. My prediction (for what its worth): the divorce rate will drop precipitously over the next two decades.
#3
TW, You might want to read The Anglosphere Primer that Bennett wrote a few years ago. Den Beste also had at least one post on the topic that I recall, but I don't know how I would ever find it. Also, there is a small bibliography at the end of the Primer. EVERY one of the books he mentions is excellent.
Posted by: Mr. Spock ||
01/26/2005 14:30 Comments ||
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#4
I would have to disagree, TW.
These children have been taught, consistently, that personal relationships are secondary in their lives. It doesn't matter if your family life falls apart, just moveon.org to the next temporary relationship. The 'ME' generation taught their children to think of themselves first.
The divorce rate may drop . . . but only as a symptom of the lack of committed relationships. Not that people won't get married, but you will find a widening gap between marrieds and dedicated singles, with more dedicated single than ever before.
In the end, without people from our culture having more children, as few women or men actually choose to be single parents, other cultures and value systems than what we are used to will become predominant. 'They' will outbreed us (pick your 'they').
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 14:33 Comments ||
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#5
If you want to read more about James C. Bennett's views, he has posted a 3 part "primer" at the Angloshere Institute's website, of which he is President. He's also an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute:
http://anglosphereinstitute.org/
Bennett is a little "too head in the clouds" veering leftward for my taste. When I got to his chapter on "Sojourner Provisions: The Human Element of Trade and Cooperation"( ie. sojourner status = "a new model of transnational personal movement")I lost interest because Mr. Bennett's vision is the same old, same old no borders, no worries shtick.
Also, Bennett's views on national security titled "Security Organizations: Sailing With the Fast Convoy" is "interesting." Hold on to your hats folks - powers such as Britain and France, which had fallen to the middle rank of military capability, today have returned to the rank of top powers precisely because of their greater ability to master the cutting edge of today's information-based technologies
Mr. Bennett is a very smart guy, no doubt about it. He has a high profile in the field of nanotechnology and the commercial space field.
http://www.foresight.org/FI/Bennett.html
I'd agree that the book may be interesting but it's not entirely new thinking - kind of a mix of neo-conservativism with libertarianism with Neal Stephenson. Ranking freedom as the route to a new world order without properly addressing big barriers like some religions, that shall go un-named, that put loyalty to it above individual and familial needs is more pie in the sky.
It's not so easy for First World nations to lead Third World nations to world peace and prosperity just with slogans about democracy and liberty via the internet. I for one don't believe that it's every person's innate desire to be free. If you look at world history, there's been a heck of alot more years of servitude than equalitarianism and freedom. Even the system that pretended to believe in equalitarianism ( communism) actually had an elite oligarchy that governed the common masses and curtailed their freedoms considerably.
Also there is an issue about Third World nations, that have considerable devotion to Islamic faith, being in the driver's seat in the future just by virtue of their natural resources, which the First World nations desperately need. They do not need to embrace democracy or Western values to conduct business interactions with capitalist nations and be successful in the future.
#6
Thanks, Mr. Spock. Saved for later, when I'm not on chauffeur duty. When the family went on holiday over Christmas, between the four of us we took an entire suitcase full of books. I think that when the girls set up their own homes, I'll divide the library between them, as my mother-in-law has divided her Xmas decorations. (Okay, I admit it, she gave me some books, too). That should fulfill .com's dictum about simplifying life, nez pah?
#7
They do not need to embrace democracy or Western values to conduct business interactions with capitalist nations and be successful in the future.
Depends on your definition of successful.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 15:07 Comments ||
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JH, Jame, TW-I don't fear underpopulation of the earth because people aren't having enough children. I do think about the demographics of the world population over time-what percentage is committed to individual freedom and rights? What percentage would fight to eliminate a psychopathic leader? It is crucial to the survival of the democratic way of life that these percentages remain majorities.
Over time, whether subconsciously or consciously, Westerners will examine our current ways of life and family and make adjustments to our expectations. Those adjustments will have to come from more than childbearers, however. Is our current way of raising children an attractive enough alternative for a larger number of talented and intelligent women to choose mothering and home-making over remunerating, rewarding and challenging careers?
Once children are brought into the world, I think it makes sense to have a parent at home for those children, and in most societies, that has been parent has been the mother. That is smart in terms of child-rearing, but that is a huge sacrifice for women who have talents and dreams of their own-talents and dreams that in the case of my mother would have taken her to concert pianist success has she lived in a different generation. Just as is the case for any human being entering an agreement, a free person will ask, is this a good bargain?
I wouldn't expect any huge shift in the numbers of women working outside the home without significant shifts in other arenas.
#9
TW, as a product of a broken home, trust me, I know the psychological aspect.
I think as it's easy for people to make and break contacts wrt business/professional life (as the author suggests) so goes their personal affairs.
50% of all marriages or so end in divorce, my belief is that's in part to the great "me" generation & I think the other part of it is that some people go into a marriage w/unrealistically high expectations and bail out as soon as things start to get dull.
As far as underpopultation, heck, I'd like to see a little underpopulation for a change. I think there's enough idiots on the planet already. I see so many parents today that have children they can neither afford economically or emotionally. BTW Jules, my wife is a stay at home mom. Sure we could be better off money wise if she worked but we both feel it's a far greater investment that she's home w/our son. I think her job is much harder and more noble then just about anything I can think of. We both laughed at Teresa H. Kerry for making the assumption that Laura Bush never had a job "if she was just home raising the kids."
Life is merely having the lead in a series of one-act plays.
And, as with all other aberrations of nature (read: ignoring the Darwinist reality; i.e. rational femalians must favor monogamy to protect their offspring), such a philosophy is a genetic box canyon. Here's to the day that rational behavior wins out over this social insanity. As with other clueless and self-defeating "strategies" (i.e. Ebola killing the host before spreading), this is yet another aspect of moonbattery that will eventually have suicide as its obvious end-point.
#11
Depends on your definition of successful
I used the word in terms of sustainability, power and I relate it to Bennett's philosophy for how the world can be transformed through the power of democracy. He claims liberty/democratic values can cause a former failing nation to become successful.
I disagree with Bennett. A nation does not need democracy to be powerful or successful. Look at China. It's motoring along quite well and getting stronger each day. Liberty has not made the Eastern Bloc nations prosperous. No matter how much democracy we promote in Africa, I doubt that continent will ever be successful, financially solvent, self-sufficient.
Bennett relates his political vision to economics, world politics, and power. He believes that universal values from the First World democracies like rule of law, individualism, "high-trust characteristics" ( per Fukuyama) can be used to get Third World countries up to speed and every one will float around through borderless networked commonwealths being happy happy with one another and prosperous and innovative to boot.
Nations that control fossil fuel resources do not need to change their values to be powerful in the future world. Islam does not allow for individual freedom - it requires individual loyality to faith so right off the bat the concept of liberty is a no-no, because that would call for freedom of association,freedom of religion, equality of man and women,blah, blah, blah. Islam is one of the oldest religions and its tenets have survived intact without its followers being "distracted" by values from neighboring democracies. European nations like the UK actually had ME nations as colonies yet the Magna Carta has never been embraced by ME'ers.
I think we need to use another paradigm to look at the future. Shared values except for exchange of money from fossil fuel poor nations to fossil rich nations is not going to happen. Perhaps civil business transactions is the best we can hope for. First World nationals better get used to the fact that our standard of living is going to take a tumble in the future. We have paid way below true market rates for fuel, especially in the USA.
I suggest that our nation should not put all its eggs in one basket ie. that democracy will make hostile nations like us and bring world peace. I think for every cent we invest in the military, we should invest the same amount in scientific research re: discovering a substitute for fossil fuels. I'm more a pragmatist than a dreamer.
#15
2x:
While you raise some excellent points, I believe that you are being overly pessimistic. In most instances people rise to the occasion when presented with economic opportunities, individual freedom, and the chance to govern themselves democratically. Certainly there is a rocky road to travel for many developing nations, but in the end the individual is always the basic building block of society. Individual, rather than collective, wants and needs rule human behavior. Mainland China will eventually reform and become democratic, given enough time combined with continued economic prosperity. It may take 50 years but it will come. Islamic nations will become more democratic, individualistic, and friendly toward women and minorities given time.... as well as the occasional military or economic "kick in the ass" by the United States.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 18:48 Comments ||
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#17
Exactly, #14. It was not liberty or democracy or those high minded ideals that beat the Third Reich. The Third Reich sowed its own defeat when it did not honor the peace truce Hitler signed with Stalin. Germany simply over-extended itself when it took on the Russian front. However, if Hitler had kept Stalin happy, I have no doubt Europe would have German as its official language today. We were lucky that Hitler turned on Stalin.
The Third Reich fell but communism became entrenched, yet another odious political system. Communism pursued its own genocidal programs and was every bit as evil as Fascism. Interestingly enough communism does not get as much "bad press" in the West. There's a statue of Lenin, believe it or not, in Fremont, Washington state.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0503/050119_arts_toughlenin.php
It should make every American vomit at the thought of having Lenin's statue in a US city.
#18
as a product of a broken home, trust me, I know the psychological aspect. Better than I do, as I only know from observation. And you and your wife have chosen the "sacrifice" of child-centered life, at least until the children are grown, which was precisely my point. I, too am a housewife (the 'little' that I often append describes my almost 60"/152cm height), for the same reason, and my husband says that hardest/noble stuff too -- I think of it rather as both choosing the most personally suitable role. He would be as miserable at home as I would be trapped in the endless series of meetings he revels in. Several of my house-husband friends made the same choice for the same reason, liberated by classical (Jules -- by that I mean pre-lesbian/bra burning absurdities) feminism to make seek the highest happiness for the whole family.
I agree that at least part of the cause for the current divorce rate is unrealistically high romantic expectations of marriage. I understand that military folks tend to marry younger than civilians, which would exaggerate that aspect. And indeed, that same unrealistic expectation leads to the whole Sex in the City eternal bachelor/bachelorette thing, as they keep waiting for the perfect, nonexistent One (.com's genetic box canyon).
The whole birthrate thing is a bit of a blind ally, I think. On the whole, prosperity world wide is increasing these days, and with prosperity comes decreasing birth rates. The Western World is just furthest along the curve, is all. (Although I wouldn't argue with those who suggest Europe has gone too far. But that's related to why they prefer talking to doing. Another argument altogether.) Those who choose not to have children will simply be replaced in another generation by those whose parents chose to become parents. (Ha!)
As for the Nazi Germany, the seeds of their defeat were inherent in their situation. A nihilistic, murderous society naturally turns on its own citizens when all the putative outsiders have been eliminated. Had Hitler won the war, his society would have melted down within a generation, as first the Slavs, then the French and Southern Europeans been killed off, then all non-Germans, then all non-blond Germans, and finally all who were not Hitler himself, were there any still willing to do his killing for him. The successful invasion of the Allies merely hurried that process (saving my mother and her family, among others, along the way, for which I am duly grateful). Even a non-nihilistic, but expansionist, Continental society like Napoleonic France was doomed to failure, for reasons that others here can explain much, much better than I.
And that, I think, is quite enough from me on this thread.
#19
TW, I think the causality is that in industrial society, larger families lead to poverty, smaller families lead to prosperity. Sufficient prosperity leads to purchasing the ultimate luxury, a larger family and a wife at home full time to rear it. I anticipate women constituting a shrinking proportion of the workforce as more of them have larger families over the next several decades.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/26/2005 20:36 Comments ||
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Mark sounds like he's a pretty bad boy. Mother must be so proud.
That idiot, Cliff BarnesMark Thatcher, 51, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, could be barred from the United States, where he hopes to rejoin his American wife and children, after last week's felony plea bargain in which he admitted paying for a helicopter to be used in an African coup. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea, was the target of the coup attempt last year. The former Spanish colony, which gained independence in 1968, likely will seek Thatcher's extradition from wherever he goes.
Teodoro would be worth getting rid of, but waiting a year or two would allow him to depart the scene naturally, since he's about 185 years old.
Thatcher's criminal record could prevent him from obtaining anything beyond a visitor's permit to the United States, the South African newspaper Rapport said. His plans to rejoin his American wife, Diane, and children in Texas have been delayed while his attorneys negotiate with U.S. authorities for a new visa, the Dallas Morning News reported. His old visa has expired and his criminal conviction could count against him, it said. The Dallas newspaper said Thatcher was waiting in Frankfurt, Germany, for word on the visa. An earlier report in the London Sunday Telegraph quoted a U.S. customs official as saying Thatcher would receive no special favors because of his family.
It doesn't sound like the U.S. authorities are particularly impressed with him, either...
Margaret Thatcher, who was a close friend of President Reagan's, paid her son's bail and has been staying with him in Cape Town. She did not accompany him to the courthouse. Thatcher's wife, the daughter of a wealthy Texas auto dealer, has been conspicuously absent. She made one fleeting trip to Cape Town since flying to Dallas with their two children shortly after her husband's arrest in August.
Maybe she doesn't like South Africa? Or is she spending time with J.R. now that Cliff Mark is preoccupied with other things?
#3
Sounds like a Brit problem to me. Sir Mark can go there, not to the U.S.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/26/2005 10:57 Comments ||
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#4
Ima thinkr thisn good for a Victoria Principal nude shot?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/26/2005 11:04 Comments ||
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#5
I think she's in the shower with Bobby...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 11:09 Comments ||
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#6
Oi.
Seriously, I'm suprised his wife went to SA to see him, and took the kids too. I would have figured they already had enough hostages.
Do y'all think he really did it, or is he just a high-profile suspect-du-jour to get the masses excited?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
01/26/2005 11:44 Comments ||
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#7
If the description's remotely accurate, he dunnit.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 14:37 Comments ||
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#8
Odds on, he got duped by Mann. He should have known better, but when told he would be getting big returns for a relatively small investment he probably decided that it was worth it to not notice any irregularities. The fleetness of mouth by the mercs in captivity says that Thatcher probably was set up as a fall guy from day 1.
If Teodoro had really wanted to make a 'splas' he should have had somebody at the airport with an anti-aircraft missile and made mercenary bits all over the runway.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 14:56 Comments ||
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#9
What Ronnie Reagan is to President Reagan Mark Thatcher is to the Iron Lady.
Blame it on delusion of genes.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/26/2005 17:14 Comments ||
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A citizen has moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan asking the court to stop President General Pervez Musharraf from holding public meetings in uniform and to stop Pakistan Television from broadcasting programmes in support of the two offices. Engineer Jamil Ammad Malik, the Communist Party of Pakistan president, through a constitutional petition said that General Pervez Musharraf was in service of Pakistan and the 1973 Constitution barred him from taking part in politics.
I can see room for compromise on this. How about if he wears a uniform and a turban?
Or a turban with a whole bunch of medals on it?
Nah, the weight would cause him to tip over on his face. Not very dignified, that ...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
He could put some of the medals on the back, as a counterbalance...or along the tail of fabric descending down his back, the way some of the Bugtis wear it -- and then he wouldn't need as many back there, according to the lever arm principle, y'know.
#2
A four-fer... He could suddenly become a Sihk to improve relations with India, get around the Commie wanker, make a bold fashion statement, and the dagger thingy might come in handy next time someone tries to assassinate him.
More than 300 people have died after being crushed in a stampede involving thousands of Hindus fleeing fires during a pilgrimage to a temple in western India. Another 200 were injured in Tuesday's incident, which happened on a narrow staircase leading to the hilltop temple in the village of Wai, about 250km south of Bombay, according to police superintendent Chandrakant Kumbhar. Kumbhar said devotees set fire to shops in the crowded passageway after they heard rumours that some pilgrims had slipped on the temple floor and were trampled to death by others who were propelled forward by the mass of people behind them.
Oh, that was a reasonable reaction...
"When their relatives, who were still climbing the stairs, heard the news, they became angry and set fire to some shops," Kumbhar said. "About 200 pilgrims have been killed and an equal number of people have been injured." The dead were mostly women, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Like the graphic, Fred. I note that the BBC yesterday and al Jazeera today both like to think that Hindus stampede. I'll bet they think that white people and Arabs, respectively, only crush. Can you imagine an alJ header: "Hajj stampede kills 300"?
#3
I thought that Kali was more into blood sacrifice rather than random acts of violence? Cutting out hearts or somesuch. Or is that just Indiana Jones?
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
01/26/2005 7:17 Comments ||
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#4
Kali: One of the manifestations and cult titles of the wife of Shiva and mother goddess Devi, especially in her malevolent role as a goddess of death and destruction, depicted as black, red-eyed, blood-stained, and wearing a necklace of skulls.
Dual citizenship will not be granted to persons of Indian origin (PIOs) in Pakistan and Bangladesh for the time being, said Jagdish Tytler, the minister for overseas affairs, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Tuesday. Inaugurating the International Congress of NRIs (non-resident Indians) in New Delhi, he said the grant of citizenship to PIOs required legislation and the process would be completed within three months by his ministry in coordination with Prime Minister's Office, the paper reported. Noting that the dual citizenship promise was made at the just-concluded Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (an NRI gathering), he said the next such event would be held only if the government fulfilled its promises, including grant of dual citizenship to all PIOs. "Such a status will not be granted to people in Pakistan and Bangladesh for the time being for obvious reasons," the paper quoted the minister as saying. He said that the security of the country was of prime importance.
The idea of dual citizenship doesn't make much sense to me. Even if it made sense, I'd still think it would apply only to countries that have very close relations. But I'm probably missing something...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/26/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A document examiner involved in the flawed "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on George W. Bush's National Guard service claims that he was defamed and his reputation damaged by the recent report from an independent review panel that investigated the show's reporting practices, E&P has learned. 
Veteran political strategist Bob Shrum, who most recently advised John Kerry during his failed bid for the presidency, will join the NYU Wagner School of Public Service as a senior fellow on Feb. 1. Shrum said his move to academia was not motivated by his candidate's loss to George W. Bush. "I would have been inclined to do it if Kerry had won, because I had no desire to go the White House," said Shrum, 61. "I would never lobby." 
Indonesia hopes to dispel concerns about official corruption in relief operations by announcing each month the amount of money it receives in foreign donations and wherethe funds are being spent, the government said on Tuesday. Indonesia is one of the world's most graft-ridden nations. Aid for disaster relief elsewhere in the country has regularly gone missing in the past, allegedly into the hands of corrupt local officials. "We will announce every month, on the 26th, the money we receive," said Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab, who is in charge of the country's relief effort. "We will list down all contributions and where it is going to avoid anysuspicion (of graft)." Indonesia was the worst affected of 11 Indian Ocean nations that were hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami. More than 110,000 people were killed in the country and tens of thousands are still missing.
Thatcher's criminal record could prevent him from obtaining anything beyond a visitor's permit to the United States, the South African newspaper Rapport said. His plans to rejoin his American wife, Diane, and children in Texas have been delayed while his attorneys negotiate with U.S. authorities for a new visa, the Dallas Morning News reported. His old visa has expired and his criminal conviction could count against him, it said. The Dallas newspaper said Thatcher was waiting in Frankfurt, Germany, for word on the visa. An earlier report in the London Sunday Telegraph quoted a U.S. customs official as saying Thatcher would receive no special favors because of his family. 
A citizen has moved the Supreme Court of Pakistan asking the court to stop President General Pervez Musharraf from holding public meetings in uniform and to stop Pakistan Television from broadcasting programmes in support of the two offices. Engineer Jamil Ammad Malik, the Communist Party of Pakistan president, through a constitutional petition said that General Pervez Musharraf was in service of Pakistan and the 1973 Constitution barred him from taking part in politics.
More than 300 people have died after being crushed in a stampede involving thousands of Hindus fleeing fires during a pilgrimage to a temple in western India. Another 200 were injured in Tuesday's incident, which happened on a narrow staircase leading to the hilltop temple in the village of Wai, about 250km south of Bombay, according to police superintendent Chandrakant Kumbhar. Kumbhar said devotees set fire to shops in the crowded passageway after they heard rumours that some pilgrims had slipped on the temple floor and were trampled to death by others who were propelled forward by the mass of people behind them. 
