Mischief in Mali: My, How Quickly Things Change!

     O.K, I'm guilty and the charge is complacency.  All the links below were compiled last week when I started writing a little piece on the war in Mali. Work intervened and I put the post aside to finish later. After all, what difference does a few days make when writing about a conflict in a country most can't find on a globe, right? How wrong I was. When I switched off my computer, a dusty little nowhere was being looked after by an African Union Force whilst those in the west, it seemed, weighed their options. Experts said intervention before September was unlikely. Suddenly, it seems, French combat troops are on the ground, their jets are attacking targets while nearby, US drones are buzzing around menacingly, and UK transport planes laden with supplies will be touching down in Mali probably as I write this. How bad is the situation on the ground if events have escalated this quickly?

Different challenges in Central African Rep., Mali
http://www.timesunion.com/news/world/article/Different-challenges-in-Central-African-Rep-Mali-4166816.php#photo-3978020


UN Security Council Authorizes Military Mission in Mali
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/20/world/africa/u-n--mali/index.html

North Mali "Terrorist" Havens Threaten 
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/14/us-africa-security-idUSBRE86D05W20120714

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/07/14/role-libya-leads-havoc-mali/ctEqyCGqpYJe9n4QzBQ2LJ/story.html

Mauritanian and Malian Forces Raid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13917344

African Union Chair to Meet Harper as Canada  Mulls Support For Mali
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/African+Union+chair+meet+Harper+Canada+mulls+support+Mali/7782205/story.html

David and Goliath: An Encore Performance.

     Three Israeli civilians have died at the hands of a few Hamas gunman armed with Soviet-era surplus and perhaps a few Iranian missiles of indeterminate quality.  Over 100 Palestinians have died when highly trained personnel piloting some of the world’s finest combat jets have directed air to ground missiles at them with pin-point accuracy.  The country these pilots represent is currently protected by the Iron Dome Missile defense system, a high-tech program with each battery costing tens of millions of dollars. Not that price tag creates any kind of financial hardship for the Jerusalem government as the Iron Dome is funded by the United States. Meanwhile, the Israeli Army is massing on the border of Gaza; armed with tanks, self-propelled guns, and Seraph (Apache) attack helicopters.

    I am no lover of Hamas, but Israel’s attacks on Gaza under the pretense of self-defense and the build-up on the border is a bit like Schwarzenegger attacking a heart patient who gave him a nasty look. The response has not been proportionate to the threat.  News that the peace talks that include the UN Secretary General are ongoing and that the US has now decided to have a hand in them is encouraging. With any luck, we have seen the worst of the destruction and a cease-fire can be brokered.  However, we cannot expect a lasting peace unless the Israeli government can come to terms with its deep-rooted fears and allow statehood for Palestine. Until then, simply acknowledging the basic human rights of the people of Gaza would be enough.

Gaza Peace Talks Continue as Israel Continues to Rule Out Ground Invasion.

The Election to Watch

      Obama's re-election is yesterday's news. The election with even greater and perhaps more far-reaching implications is the one in Beijing. The new leadership in China will preside over the era when China's economy will outstrip that of the US and it's emergence as a formidable military power will become a consideration in all foreign policy matters the West may face in the next generation. Some believe that the importance of the increase in China's influence and it's military potential amount are over-rated and they are but a hollow threat like the Soviets turned out to be. However, the wise man will realize that he era of the sleeping dragon is almost over.
    

China Prepares For Power Handover, But Reverberations Will be Felt Worldwide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/world/asia/aiming-for-top-xi-jinping-forged-ties-early-in-china.html?hpw

Elite and Deft, Xi Aimed High Early in China
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/world/asia/aiming-for-top-xi-jinping-forged-ties-early-in-china.html?hpw

China's First Aircraft Carrier Enters Service
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19710040

Running Low on Tea? Pass The Moonshine!

     The last two presidential candidates were too moderate to appeal to the God, Guts, and Guns set, while their choices in running mates was, (How can I say this?) uninspired. So now, in the wake of defeat, many of the well-balanced, intellectual banjo-wielding voters who make up the right wing of the GOP have decided to take the most rational, logical step and advocate secession. Of course, the point that a state may not secede was established a few years ago in a wholly insignificant affray that resulted in the deaths of over half a million people. This was not a well-reported event, few papers picked up the story, and I understand why those advocating secession now might have missed it.

      During the campaign, a colleague was receiving emails from someone associated with the GOP urging him to vote for right-wing ideas. After the election, he received another email from the same source. Addressed  “Dear Fellow Republicans, Conservatives, Constitutionalists, and other Patriotic Americans," the message was, not surprisingly, critical of Mr. Obama's ideas about health care, urged readers to join a neo-confederate organization called the League of The South, and ended with, "The Conservative Movement is dead. Let the Secession Movement begin!" 

      I first heard of the League of the South a decade ago and had hoped it was only a passing bit of random lunacy. It saddens me to think that this brand of Neanderthal is still among us. The organization is in a few states now and bears watching. For now at least, it is safe to say that the Republican Party is one in crisis and those among them who try to make a reasoned argument for small government and less tax are being drowned out by the radicals. Is this secession idea what happens to members of Tea party, when their music stops?

    



League of The South Pushes Separatist Views
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091001/met_7240080.html


Southern Poverty Law Center Information on the League of The South
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/league-of-the-south

Florida: Potential Powerhouse in 2016

     So close, but with the four-day-long vote count now over, the President is re-confirmed and I missed a perfect record for my predictions by one state. I have since had myself hung, drawn and quartered, and boiled in oil (mostly for it's slimming effects.) Polls were close right up to the day before the election but, with Florida having a governor, a senator, and nineteen of its twenty-five members of congress all Republicans, to say nothing of the GOP majority in both houses of it's state legislature, giving the edge to the elephants seemed to make sense.What made the difference? What did I miss? The Sunshine State backed Obama in 2008 but, was that any indication of what this year's vote? Who can say?
     With one of the most diverse demographics in the country including liberal retirees from New England and conservative Cuban Americans, it can be politically very fickle. To make the situation even more interesting, a potential presidential candidate is manifesting itself in the form of Republican Senator Marco Rubio. Florida has been making headlines since 2000 and it is only going to get worse. This state will be the one to watch in 2016.

Marco Rubio Heads to Iowa. 2016 Starting Already?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/11/rubio-heads-to-iowa-2016-starting-already/

Sanitized For Your Protection

Have been looking around the web and found almost no coverage of Lemmy's comments in the States. In fact all I've have seen to indicate any mention of his observations is a highly edited version carried by the Huffington Post. It is ironic that a country so concerned with free speech is so afraid of "dirty" words.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/06/lemmy-mitt-romney#start-of-comments

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/motorhead-mitt-romney-monster-lemmy-kilmister_n_2081646.html

The Transition to “Oh, THAT Guy.”

     Imagine Wednesday morning, November 7^th, and Mitt Romney will desperately want to hide under the covers once the final numbers tell the tale. When many are sitting down to coffee and corn flakes, Mr. Romney will dine on a cold, slightly lumpy bowl of defeat. So begins his metamorphosis from candidate of the moment into “Oh, THAT guy” or OTG. Once elections have passed, defeated candidates usually fade from the public consciousness to be remembered by most not as Governor Smith or Senator Jones, but only as “that guy” who lost.  Imagine future conversations you may have about this election, as people try to remember exactly the unsuccessful candidate you are referring to, there will usually come that moment of clarity where someone remembers and says, “Oh, THAT guy.”
    An example? Two guys are in the pub; Bob says to Fred, “This reminds me of that Texas billionaire who ran as an independent years ago.” Fred looks confused, “Who?” “Oh, you remember, the little short guy with the nasally voice,” Bob says, “What was his name; was it Perot?” To which Fred replies, “Oh, THAT guy!”

The primary season is particularly good at assigning candidates to OTG status. Remember all of those household names from just a year ago? Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain? Rick Santorum, and Buddy Roemer? Surely you must remember good old Tim Pawlenty? No? I kinda thought you wouldn’t. Often people don’t immediately recognize a losing candidate’s name without a prompt. Just imagine this conversation for an example: you ask, “Hey James, do you remember Rick Perry?” I ask, “Who?” “You know, Perry was the Governor of Texas who ran for President last year, right?” “Oh, THAT guy,” comes my reply. See how it works?

Yes, the examples of OTG abound, from Dewitt Clinton and Rufus King in the nineteenth century right up to Michael Dukakis and Bob Dole in the late twentieth century. Tomorrow morning, there will be another name to add to your OTG list. Try this simple exercise: You say, “Remember Mitt Romney?”  “Who,” I ask.  “The guy beaten by Obama back in 2012.” (Everyone join in with me...) “Oh, THAT guy.” See, feels natural, doesn’t it?