Never, Ever Forget...

Real Journalism

Don't believe me? Check it out...

Common sense, thorough analysis, and straight facts.

Possibly the finest single piece of journalism out there.

US news outlets could learn a little something from the Brits in this particular case.

What's Your Life's Soundtrack?

I have always owned Apple products, all the way back to the Mac Classic, and have always been impressed by their inate intuitivness, ease of use, and cutting edge design.

Can products define who you are? The advertising community would certainly like us to think so. But the defining is more in how you use that product than whether you have one or not.

It is easy to sport the latest widget...but what do you actually do with it?

The iPod is the perfect example. Sure, it plays music in a very transportable and convenient way. But what do you use that music, beautifully and practically captured in an iPod, for?

Inspiration...a workout companion...to define who you are to your latest love interest?

Ever thought about a soundtrack to your life?

What are the "Gender Studies" Feminists to do?

Finally...a woman candidate for national level executive office who is actually...a woman.

No pantsuit, no short hair, 5 children (good God! they hiss), and strong...in a woman's way. Sara Palin has not only shattered the glass ceiling, she has done it as...god forbid...a woman

Let's hope the archetype of the "modern feminist" is gone with Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the Presidency...and none too soon. Here is woman who holds convictions driven by purpose and not by polls. Here is a woman who can walk into a board room and demand respect, not by failed "affirmative action" policies but by convictions of conscience. What traditional, Gloria Steinem emulating feminists have always failed to understand about men is that we ultimately respect not what sex you have happened to be born with. We respect the strength and authenticity of your convictions.

Hillary Clinton never had it.

Sara Palin always had it.

You can't fake it...no matter how hard you try.

Well, Well...

Due to an overwhelming feeling of joy they forgot to thank their rescuers.

Unbelievable...

A Stunning Lack of Gratitude

On Thursday, 23 March, a multi-national military force rescued three Christian peace activists after 118 days of captivity. They were: Canadians James Loney, 41 (pictured at right), and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, and Briton Norman Kember, 74. The Loney family issued this press release:

“Oh, what a joyful day this is! We have just learned that James is coming home. He has been released unharmed, with his companions Harmeet and Norma. We would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers. At this time, we would also like to express our deepest sympathy to the family of Tom Fox. Please let us rejoice in this family moment as we prepare for the days to come."

Shortly thereafter, a representative of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, the activist group the three men belonged to, released a statement. Here is an excerpt:

“Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad…We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.”

Released?? Who do these people believe released their loved ones? The insurgents? If it was not for the actions of a multi-national special operations team, this might not be such a “joyful” day.

The statement continues:

“Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families.”

They declare love for the insurgents, who brutally murdered their comrade in cause, yet offer no gratitude to the commandos who risked their lives to ensure the safe return of the remaining three?

Stunning…

The Ghost of Stalin

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, or Batka (roughly translated as Daddy) as he likes to be called, Belarus' sorry excuse for a president, is up for "re-election" this month. (See the article in the comments section of this post if you do not have acess to the Economist online edition.) He was elected in 1994, a 1996 rigged referendum extended his presidency, and a 2004 fixed plebiscite modified the constitution allowing him to remain in power indefinitely.

And he intends to keep it that way.

Lukashenka, the former head of Soviet-styled collective farm, did not like what he saw in his southern neighbor, Ukraine, in fall of 2004. Too much orange for his taste. Since then, the regime in Minsk has tightened its grip on it citizens, ramped up its typically-Soviet, over the top, propaganda machine locally known as the press, and provided its judges with very specific instructions on how to handle "problems". As such, the Belarussian gulags are brimming with former "opposition" candidates (past and present), student dissenters, and wayward journalists just to name a few. Additionally, it seems the number of missing persons is escalating at a rather alarming rate.

And who said Stalin was dead?

The American Epidemic of Ignorance

I travel...a lot. Over the past five years, I have been to over 40 countries on 4 continents (to include the UAE and Dubai on over 30 occasions), and never, ever, have I seen such a highly educated citizenry (allegedly so, anyway) of a first world country like America attempt to speak so authoritatively on so many subjects while displaying such utter ignorance of the facts. The stunning self-righteousness which drives so many of these logically devoid views of so many of our fellow American citizens is just staggering. The Dubai ports deal is just one example. Our reasons for going into Iraq are another.

So, for all of you fellow citizens who have recently succumbed to this American epidemic of ignorance (and, unfortunately, there have been way to many of you) when it comes to Middle East policy and politics (and numerous other things for that matter), let me suggest some reading, something that many of you told me you do not have "time" to do. Well, both pieces are short and to the point, so you have no excuse.

Thomas Friedman hits one out of the park with his Dubai and Dunces piece (Just omit the second paragraph. He is misinformed.) and then follows it up with a perfect take on our current Iraq/Iran policy with America's Iran Policy: Iraq piece. (See the comments section of this post for the two article sif you do not have access to the NY Times online edition.)

Both should be required reading for all Americans who claim to have an informed, nuanced opinion on Middle East policy.

Let me put it another way...

Apply some analytical rigor to your positions, research them, and then back them up with facts. Parroted, partisan arguments do nothing but show your intellectual laziness and immense stupidity.

Unless you do your homework and bring something substantive to the table, stay out of the discussion. Making yourself look alarmingly ignorant does nothing, needless to say, to further your cause.

The Face of Arab Modernity

If you do not know this man's face...you will.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Vice President and Prime Minister of the Unites Arab Emirates and the newly crowned ruler of Dubai, the second most powerful and influential of the seven emirates that make up the UAE. For the past 20 years, and with the tacit agreement of his recently deceased father and former ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mo as he is affectionately known to ex-pats and locals alike, has been vigorously fighting to bring Dubai into the 21st century...and he has. Dubai is a cosmopolitan city, oozing with absurd wealth and dripping with the kind of delight Nero would approve of...and you don't even have to pay that much for it.

With the human sex trafficking, the terrorist money laundering, the local entitlement class, and the modern day caste system in place, Dubai may not be YOUR kind of Arab modernity...but the alternative is not much better. Think Iran. If we are lucky, then think Jordan.

Life and geopolitics, especially in the Middle East, is about uncomfortable compromise. You only hope that you are more right than the next guy...and the world and its markets agree.

The World Irreverently...

Go here for some...shall we say...unique perspecitves on the recent headlines. Courtesy of that paragon of journalistic accuracy and integrity, The Onion.

Winning the (Quiet) War on Terror

See this article from the Christian Science Monitor. This "quiet war" rarely makes the news, and when it does, no one pays much attention. Why? Because it's not as sensational (read "doesn't promote the media's political agenda" here) as news coming out of Iraq or Afghanistan...and because it is having a large measure of success. CJTF-HOA is doing some outstanding work cutting al-Qaida off at the knees in the countries of east Africa, with the one exception of Somalia where they are forbidden to operate.

HOA is an outstanding example of how you defeat an insurgency...you cut it out at the roots before it has a chance to grow. This is known in military parlance as "theater engagement", the process of showing the flag in conjunction with humanitarian operations (i.e. vaccinating kids, digging wells, building schools, training local military, etc.). Theater engagement allows you to bring the "soft power" of the military to bear on a problem in a way that lingers in the mind of the host nation population when al-Qaida comes knocking. You earn their trust through good works and a professional example...and it works.

Cynics say you are just buying off the local population by providing them with things their host nation government cannot.

Yeah...so what.

It is effective and not to mention a hell of a lot less expensive, less complicated, and less taxing for the military. The American taxpayer's money is well spent. When done with the consent of or in conjunction with the host nation, it builds political good will and provides national security in one shot.

You cannot ask for more than that...

"Hysterical and bacchanalian..."

...is how the Russian foreign ministry described President Mikhail Saakshvili, Georgia's temperamental but brilliant leader, and his reaction to the January 22 near simultaneous early morning explosions of two natural gas lines just inside Russia along its border with Georgia.

The Georgian President hit the proverbial roof, immediately calling Russia, and its 1993 capitalist upstart Gazprom (a publicly traded company with appox. 40% of its shares owned by the Russian government and alone responsible for 8% of Russia's GDP), the "enemy" whose actions were "outrageous blackmail".

The President had every right to be upset, it being the dead of winter in the Caucasus and the lines that were destroyed were his entire country's (and by default, because they came from the same source, Armenia's) only source of gas. And it's winter...and it is cold. Place this event in the context of Russia's earlier tiff this year with Ukraine over the cost of Russian supplied natural gas (a proposed price increase on the Ukraine of appox. 500%), and you can see his point. To add insult to injury, later that day, and several hundred kilometers away, an electrical line from Russia to Georgia was "interrupted".

Post-Soviet economic blackmail by a former ruling government or minor industrial accident?

I'll let you decide...