Friday, March 18th

United States

Judge halts Wisconsin law that harms unions.

Significance: The Wisconsin state government, headed by governor Walker, passed a law that reduced the collective bargaining power of unions. Massive demonstrations in Madison and elsewhere have grown exponentially. There is really no other way at this point to reduce the deficit substantially without this law. Without a doubt, the current governor and those lawmakers who supported him have lost reelection without running. Unions across America are as powerful as the big corporations.

International

Japan continues to suffer.

Significance: The sun has not yet shone on the Japanese people since last week, literally. Snow has made rescue missions difficult, as ten thousand people are still missing. Death tolls has almost topped 7 thousand, as the nuclear situation and food shortages remain unresolved. The nuclear situation has essentially caused countries across the globe (with exception to China) to run safety tests or halt construction on new facilities. Some countries like France, where energy comes almost entirely from nuclear facilities, do not have that luxury. Regardless of the risks, it’s a very safe and effective way to obtain energy. Japan is a country worth of US help.

Libya invasion likely.

Significance: Not long after the UN condemnation of Gadhafi, the dictator has made signals he is interested in a ceasefire, while simultaneously continuing his attacks. President Obama meanwhile has given the cornered dictator an ultimatum not much different than the one given by President Bush to Saddam Hussein. While the Arab league has given a general approval for western military action, a joint coalition of American, British, and French naval and air forces have moved into the area right outside Libyan waters. The kidnap of four US journalists by Gadhafi forces and the rising tensions in places like Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen are all factors pressuring the West to act. This has a high chance of backfiring on the US. Saudi Arabia has sent forces into Bahrain to protect the monarchy in place, while Assad has begun killing his subjects at will, meaning they don’t want change regardless of their words. If the Arab countries aren’t willing to put an end to the trouble in Libya, the West should not feel obliged to. The Arab world will not be appreciative of American help, rather turn against American “occupation”. Can anyone recall a similar situation in a place called Kuwait involving an Arab hero called Osama bin-Laden? If the French and British (since they have such large North African populations) feel compelled to invade, let them. The US already spends 100 billion dollars a year on Afghanistan.

Israel seizes ship carrying weapons for terrorists.

Significance: The German-owned, French-operated, Romanian-captained, Liberian-chartered, and a sea course sailing away from Israeli waters was how the deceptive Iranian regime tried to fool Israel. The most advanced weapons to come out of Iran and Syria jointly were hidden in boxes of lentils and cotton. Is that why cotton has been getting more expensive? The mostly Chinese-made weapons have the capability to knock out some of Israel’s sea defenses, trading-ships, and docks easily.

Thought of the Day: “I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect.” –Oscar Wilde

Friday, March 11th

United States

Congressional panel discussed Muslim-American radicalization.

Significance: Led by the Chair of the House Homeland Security, Peter King, the panel essentially reached no useful objective. The panel was more of a public pulpit for people’s differing opinions, with very little effective cooperation in terms of how to solve terrorism, if its even possible. The reality is as such; homegrown terrorism is currently a bigger threat to the fabric of American society than international plots. More significantly, the younger generation of Muslim-Americans (according to PEW) are substantially more radical than their parent’s generation (10% to 25%). The best research question for the panel would have been why the youth are more prone to condoning violence than their elders. CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations), for example, has most likely sponsored terror cells. Racism detracts from morality while political correctness detracts from finding solutions.

Illinois bans the death penalty.

Significance: Fifteen felons on death row are now simply waiting for their lives to end, the long way around. European countries have longed complained of American barbarism by executing felons. The holes in the system, especially considering how overly expensive it is to execute a person as opposed to life imprisonment, has made this decision by Governor Quinn tantalizing. In reality, awarding these rapists and serial killers with their lives has proven that committing a lethal crime is no longer that serious of an offense. This is encouragement for committing crimes; similar to how many of my own students had more serious behavioral issues during my student-teaching because the administration removed detentions. Quinn has clearly never had someone close to him stolen from this earth.

International

8.9 Earthquake devastates Japan.

Significance: Japan experienced a 6.3 and a 7.2 in the past two days building up to this, which is rare. At least a thousand are dead so far, including many foreigners. Today’s though, is the largest in over a hundred years, leading to a tsunami. The epicenter was off the main island of Honshu (Japan has four major islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku). The tsunami will, and has, rippled through the entire Pacific Ocean, but not really severe. Aftershocks and potentially nuclear leaks are the main concern at the moment. Simultaneously, China was struck with a quake that killed 25 people.

Violence erupted between Christians and Muslims in Egypt.

Significance: The two religious groups may have come together to oust Mubarak, but it was clear that they would resume killing one another. The Coptics (the specific Christian sect that exists in Egypt) have been widely discriminated against, and their future continues to look dim. Some radicals have become part of the transitional government, while the extent continues to be unclear. Seems the world is only interested in fighting Gadhafi forces because it affects the price of oil. World has rarely intervened in past genocides, and atrocities in the new South Sudan state in Abyei are hardly mentioned. That is because those specific oil fields feed into Chinese consumption, and not the West.

Terrorist murders Israeli family while they slept.

Significance: The Palestinian terrorist infiltrated a small village (Itamar) located in Judea and Samaria, the historical lands of Israel, and stabbed five members to death. After murdering the parents, the terrorist viciously stabbed the three children (including a baby less than one month old). The Israel Defense Forces are currently searching for the barbarian. Hopefully, the situation will remain calm.

Thought of the Day: “I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.” –Pietro Aretino

Friday, March 4th

United States

Federal Government could potentially shut down.

Significance: With a funding bill set to expire, the Democrats and Republicans are going head to head trying to reach an agreement on how much of the budget to cut. Within days, if no agreement is reached, all non-essential government jobs will be closed. In theory, this is wonderful. In actuality, this closes museums, toxic waste plants, and national parks (how can a forest be closed?). Most likely, both parties will come to an agreement right before the bill expires.

President Obama meets with Mexican President Calderon.

Significance: The incompetent, shortsighted, and opinionated Mexican president has had a close relationship with Obama. After the death of a US agent in Mexico, President Obama continued to enforce the Mexican law that no US agent should be armed in Mexico. The dead agent shot beanbags instead of bullets at armed criminals because of the law; subsequently, he was killed. It is easy for President Obama to not allow weapons for US agents, since he is safe behind a wall of Secret Service.

International

Libyan violence leads to soaring gas prices.

Significance: Unless you ride a bike, you probably saw the 23 cent increase in one week at the pumps, closer to half a dollar overall. Libya produces only about 2% of the world’s oil, but they are home to some of the highest quality oil around. Furthermore, they are the closest exporter in terms of proximity to Europe. Italy, Germany, and Ireland benefit the most from Gadhafi. Some of the oil fields in the former Roman province have been either captured by rebel forces (those fighting Gadhafi’s iron grip rule) or simply left unattended. The US has yet to allow for the American public to benefit from its own stockpiles of oil that could help balance the high cost. If the US actually does enforce a no-fly zone over the country, prices will increase even more dramatically. Remember, the only way to go about doing that is to launch a war against Libya. With forces already stationed in other war zones, not to even mention how there are worse genocides currently underway, and a soaring deficit, interfering with the tiny country of Libya would be ridiculous.

Ivory Coast sees escalation in violence.

Significance: Conflict has again returned to this land as President Gbagbo is proving to be more stubborn than Gadhafi. Ivory Coast is heading towards a civil war, since no country can have two presidents. The United Nations has slowly been pulling out of the country as violence increase. The impotent organization will hardly be missed. Though this is totally unrelated to the crisis in the Arab world, some Black African countries have seen a rise in protests similar to those in the Arab world. This has come about because of direct ties of some African leaders to the dictators of Arabian lands (such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and former Idi Amin of Uganda). Remember, African countries are hardly better than Arab ones for the common man.

More dead continue to be discovered from the massive earthquake in New Zealand.

Significance: The 6.3 behemoth that devastated the South Island, specifically Christchurch (which is a good place to catch a ferry heading to Antarctica), is not yet behind. The NZ civil defense is having trouble keeping up with the humanitarian problems now facing survivors. So far, the death toll has reached 161 but there is a good chance it will double. Many nationalities are among the dead (Canadians, Danes, Israelis, etc.) since it is a great hub for backpackers.  

Thought of the Day: George Washington did not want his image on US currency. He did not want to imitate European monarchs.