Editorial on the news of the Day and Review of the Gridlock around the world.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Iran So Far Away

With the indelible ability to make provocative statements to a world audience, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a gem while speaking at Columbia last week. The Iranian president claimed that there are no homosexuals in Iran and that they (Iran) don’t “have that problem.”

Apparently, the state run television and print media in Iran have obsessively curtailed those comments from the eyes and ears of their citizens. A social taboo in Iran, homosexuality is rarely discussed and is even prohibited in the country to the level of capital punishment i.e. execution.

Ahmadinejad’s exact comment was, "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals, like in your country. We don't have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have it." In addition to this provocative statement, Ahmadinejad spoke at the United Nations with similar anti western fervor.

Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia does show that Universities can actually be more important on a world stage.  They can make a difference and are not always about the NCAA Tournament sports hype that they normally get news coverage for.

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Climate Change; Part of Axis of Evil

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulsen spoke last week regarding President Bush’s concern over the effects of climate change. Apparently President Bush is deeply concerned over the issue of climate change even though he neglected to address the issue at the United Nations general assembly on Monday. The assembly was widely regarded as being a summit of sorts for discussion on global climate change.

Secretary Paulsen spoke of Bush’s concern, but stopped short of rehashing the president’s stance of refusing to set a firm stance on emissions and carbon dioxide reductions that have been adopted across the civilized world. Although the president’s approach has been criticized far and wide, Paulsen reassured the press that Bush is “serious about finding solutions.” Maybe those solutions are in Iran or Syria, but they definitely do not appear to be in any agenda that is actually on a table anywhere near the President.

Here in North Carolina, we can't even protect the mud, the lakes are evaporating so fast.  Forget finding a good real estate agent, to help you find that beach front property in Kentucky, start thinking about how you can import a few camel herds so that when the South East turns into a barren desert we can all still engage in free interstate commerce.

The Republicans Strike Back

All we need is the epic Star Wars theme and opening text crawl. All joking aside, Republicans responded last week toward criticisms and grievances aired from the Democratic debate last week on MSNBC.  It held a common unifying thread as Democrats ceaselessly attacked the Republican Party on matters of Middle East policy as well as domestic policy and everything else with the exception of their choice of cufflinks.

Mitt Romney was the first to speak out Thursday morning regarding Democratic responses toward Israel protecting itself from hostilities via Iran. Romney said that he was appalled that none of the leading Democrats would support Israel defending themselves in the event of an attack from Iran. Romney had no comment in regards to Democrats claiming that their leadership will usher in an era of change whereas Republican leadership will move America back 50 years.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Myanmar Officials Sanctioned

I was traveling most of the weekend (since Thursday) and trying to keep up with the news mostly with the browser on my phone and on my laptop during those few times when I found not only a free wireless connection but a wireless connection that worked.

The United States took political action Thursday by ordering sanctions against officials in the Junta leadership in Myanmar who authorized deadly force to quell peaceful protests organized by religious leaders over the passed week. In addition to the deaths, several monasteries have been all but destroyed and their leaders taken captive.

The economic sanctions will freeze assets of 14 Junta leaders who have finances in U.S. banks or other financial holdings under U.S. jurisdiction. Thursday’s demonstrations that killed nine protesters mark the tenth day of protest toward the militaristic regimes crackdown. The protestors could be heard shouting, “Give us freedom, give us freedom!”

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Al Gore Stirs Controversy In U.K.

Al Gore’s award winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” is stirring up controversy again in the outdoor kitchen we call Earth.  The thing is, this time it is doing so on an inconvenient scale. The film, which has been distributed to schools in the United Kingdom, has been viewed as containing a number of inaccuracies and biases according to lawyer Paul Downes who represents the claimant who is a school governor in Dover.

The DVD will be distributed to 3,500 secondary schools in the nation as part of a government funded environmental education program. Critics claim that the inaccuracies stated in the film are politically driven and in fact the film is, as Paul Downes states, "just over half scientific material, 30 percent pure politics and about 20 percent sentimental mush - mush there to soften up the viewer for persuasion." The DVD is distributed to schools with a packet that attempts to balance out the presentation as well as inform students that the film is an individual’s view of scientific fact.

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Obama Trespasses in NYC

After the debate in New Hampshire Wednesday night, Barack Obama spent a little time in New York City calling out Hillary Clinton. Drawing momentum from the debate, Obama drew several distinctions between he and Sen. Clinton. He also mentioned that change isn’t an easy choice in a manner that echoed the sentiment that some things are worth fighting for.

In a moment of levity Obama brought to light a moment from Wednesdays debate where a local reporter asked candidates whether they supported the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox. Obama reiterated the fact that Hillary can’t give a straight answer to the simplest of questions. Clinton’s response to the question was along the lines of, “it depends on who’s asking.”   If it has a pulse, if it breathes air (unassisted or assisted or even medicated with a pulse oximeter) Clinton will find a way to tailor her answer to resonate, barely, with the lowest common denominator.

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Do It For The Children

This week the senate passed legislation that would add approximately 4 million children to a number of popular healthcare programs over the next few months. The landmark legislation will arrive on President Bush’s desk by the weekend where it is all but guaranteed to receive a veto due to the attached rider to raise taxes on tobacco products to secure funding for the program.

Unfortunately both chambers must ensure a two-thirds majority vote in order to override a presidential veto.  Although the veto is all but certain to send congress back to the drawing board, President Bush has handed Democrats a campaign issue that they will undoubtedly carry into the elections next fall.

It's not likely to get past the Presidential veto and in that its almost a hollow effort.  The DC insiders will probably end up tail gating to Crawford chuckling over beers as they lean over their billet grilles on gas guzzling over sized trucks.

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