Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Morning Blog

Libya is being Libya. The mess continues. Having gotten itself entangled in this civil war, I really don't see more than two options for NATO (other than abandoning the adventure):

1) Arm the rebels. Heavily: This is problematic for a couple of reasons. First of all, the American experience in Afghanistan shows that placing weapons in the hands of insurgents, willy-nilly can have unforeseen and dire consequences. It could turn Libya into a huge arms bazaar. It could also provide materiel for years and years of sectarian violence. Second of all, the rebels will have to be trained in the use of whatever weapons they're sent. Even small arms will require some lessons. Consider something as simple as an AK-74. It's considered a masterpiece of economy and reliability. I'm quite certain that I could fire one. But could I clean it? Could I repair it? Not without being taught. If we insert weapons, even basic ones, we'll have to insert trainers. Which leads us to our second option...

2) Put troops on the ground: Is there even a choice on this? I think it's sadly inevitable at this point and lordy, lordy is it going to be expensive politically and economically. But if there's any hope for Libya to reemerge, it's going to have to be with certain guarantees of domestic security. There's no possible way for any country's economy or infrastructure to rebuild while bullets are flying around. Iraq proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Given that the police and military have been largely complicit with the Qaddafi regime, NATO will initially have to be supplying the forces to keep the peace.

Have fun with it guys!

Case in point...

Why hasn't Obama taken a strong stance on the protests in Bahrain? BECAUSE IT'S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS, THAT'S WHY!!!! If the British want to impose democracy on the rest of the world, they can have at it. We gave it a shot, and found it to be an expensive failure. I am sick and tired of the perception that America must, Must, MUST (and 'can' for that matter), get involved in every single democracy movement on the planet.

Elsewhere in the Middle-East, the Saudis continue to sulk. Kerry has a point:

But others are more dismissive of Saudi concerns. “Our friends are mad at us because we said Mubarak had to go,” Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said Tuesday at the U.S.-Islamic Forum, a conference in Washington jointly sponsored by Brookings and the government of Qatar. “We didn’t say that . . . the Egyptian people did,” Kerry said. “We acknowledged a reality.”

The Saudis are sort of asking for us to take a conflicting stance I feel. It seems as though they want us to leave them to their own devices but at the same time, be prepared to support their government no matter what.

In the wake of its school shooting, Brazil is moving to ban the sale of guns. I mention this because it strikes me as an example of a distressing trend: Rights are held hostage to the whims of lunatics. By this I mean they are sacrosanct up until a freak abuses them in some way and suddenly the rights of all become threatened. Another good example would be Terry Jones or the sociopathic Phelps clan. Their gross idiocies and others like them, give Congress an excuse to limit political speech in the public sphere. That is not to say that events like those that occurred in Rio are not unspeakably tragic. That is merely to say that it is crucial to consider whether it is necessary to diminish the rights of everyone based on the quirks of a maniacal few.



In other gun control news, it appears as though Pennsylvania will be expanding its concept of the "Castle Doctrine". I'm in favor of this. Currently, deadly force can only be used in response to the threat of rape, kidnapping, serious bodily harm or murder if you first make an attempt to flee. The new bill would permit the use of deadly force provided the assailant displays a gun or other deadly weapon. That seems perfectly reasonable to me. Fleeing would be ideal for sure, but I'm afraid precious few of us are faster than a speeding bullet.

Where's the Dapper Don when you need him? The only official boss of a Mafia family to break the code of Omerta has begun testimony. It reads like something out of "Goodfellas". But...My oh my. What did he wear to the proceedings? A tracksuit. C'mon man! Must you look like such a stereotype?

Been waiting for this all year! This one goes out to my peeps!

This is very interesting to me: Virginia's recidivism rate is quite startling lower than the national average, 28.3% vs. 43.3%. Apparently, the major reason for it is a state ban on parole. Prisoners are required to serve at least 85% of their sentences and are simply too old to want to return to crime. At the same time, the state has managed to cut spending on jails and close 10 prisons. Well done, I should say. I'd also like to give a nod to their governor who has created a council to further curb recidivism, notably by making it easier for ex-cons to regain their rights to vote as citizens. I think it's a crucial step to take in returning them to society.

South Carolina however, had a recidivism rate of 32.7% within three years of release in 2003. Programs like this probably aren't helping.

I really don't understand why people are going to these shows. Everyone knows that the person performing is insane and has had numerous public meltdowns where they've said completely ridiculous things. I just don't get it. Heckling crazy people just seems sort of cruel. It just feels like a bad joke that hopefully will end soon.

That said, I wonder what Charlie Sheen is up to.

Wine for peace. Sigh. I wish it could be that easy everywhere.

Happy Birthday, James Bond!

Speaking of James Bond, this man would have made a lovely Q.

Theresa Bait: See? This is precisely the sort of bad idea that people come up with when you mothball the space shuttle program!

Skyscrapers of the future. Sigh. I'm already certain I can't afford the rent.

And finally...

Quote of the Day: “It’s always sad to see interesting cars driven by idiots.”

No comments:

Post a Comment