Posts tagged with International Affairs
Our Incredibly Shrinking Earth!
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... The Earth is shrinking.
Ok, not literally. But figuratively it is. Globalization, population growth, and other factors have brought us "together" as a world in some ways.
And globalization is not just a recent phenomena. It's been going on probably at least since the Age of Discovery in the 1600s to 1800s but it has accelerated since the turn of the last century.
Here, in pretty pictures from the UN, is a nifty chart about the trends.
Source: Our Shrinking Earth. (2009). In UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. Retrieved 16:16, January 18, 2010 from http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/our-shrinking-earth.
Download this graphic in jpg format, 394 KB , suitable for web-sites, documents or presentations.
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Is The USA Haiti And The World’s Social Worker
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... I don't mean to be mean. But what is the United States' responsibility to help Haiti and Haitians? What is your and my responsibility to help Haiti and Haitians?
I don't know if Haiti can be listed as a "failed state" like Sudan or Somalia. Our nation and many of our citizens have done much to help bring at least some amount of democracy to Haiti and to provide humanitarian and economic assistance to the nation prior to last week's earthquake.
But let's face it, Haiti is not exactly humming along like Canada or Norway. It has lots of problems--grinding poverty and what appears to me to be a barely functioning government in the best of times.
As I've watched some of the news coverage, primarily on CNN, there seems to be an anger on the part of the Anderson Coopers that aid has not arrived quickly enough. That is probably true. Aid in these situations never arrives as quickly as it is needed.
But also underlying this anger is that it is somehow the United States' fault that it is not getting to where it needs to go.
Again, not to be mean, but last time I checked, Haiti is not an American state, district, territory, commonwealth, dependency, or protectorate. It is a sovereign nation that doesn't have strong cultural, social, economic, or political ties to the USA. Just one example of those differences--they speak French and we speak English.
While we have interests and interest in Haiti, it is not a place that is a vital American interest. That doesn't mean folks there aren't suffering. They are, horribly. But it's not like an earthquake in San Franciso, which is our soil and our brothers and sisters.
Even on a good day, Haiti doesn't have much infrastructure like roads, ports, airports, hospitals, and other such services. Tear most of that down in an earthquake and the ability to get people and supplies into the country is daunting.
Remember Hurricane Katrina here in the USA? Frankly, the Bush Administration did a terrible job handling the situation. But on the same token, even the most powerful nation in the world with all sorts of emergency management people, services and training, pre-positioned emergency supplies, and good infrastructure struggled. Lots of people, even most people in the Bush Administration, tried mightily and tirelessly to help victims in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We are still trying to recover and help people years later.
One of the greatest attributes of America and Americans is that when disaster hits elsewhere, we put ideology aside and try to help. We usually lead the charge, a sort of humanitarian cavalry.
I think America should do what it can do to help Haiti. And we Americans definitely should do what we can, like donate money and support our friends and neighbors who are going to Haiti to try and help.
Honestly though, Haitian relief is not primarily America's burden. I understand that the Haitians don't necessarily have the wherewithal to help themselves right now in this terrible disaster. America can't do it alone. Haiti needs the world community, not just the United States. And then the Haitians need to figure out a way be a more self-sufficient nation, not just to take care of themselves during the next emergency, but so they have a prosperous, free, and safe country in the future.
While the USA has an interest in those goals, they are not our goals. They are Haiti and Haitians' goals and dreams. America is a good neighbor, not the world's social worker.
Even Leading GOP Experts Agree: Palin Is a Gimmicky Pick
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e..., my young Republican friends, you've given me a lot of grief about "picking" on Gov. Sarah Palin.Well, some of the stalwarts of your own party aren't so big on her selection either.Here's a transcript of an off camera discussion today about Palin's selection as Veep from venerable GOP heavyweight Peggy Noonan, Republican strategist Mike Murphy, and MSNBC's Chuck Todd. Go to the Huffington Post to watch the actual video (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/03/peggy-noonan-mike-murphy_n_123647.html).Here's the pertinent part of the transcript: Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush.I mean, these guys - this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And - PN: It's over.MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too. PN: Saw Kay this morning. CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this - MM: They're all bummed out. CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to? PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this - excuse me- political blht about narratives - CT: Yeah they went to a narrative. MM: I totally agree. PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it. MM: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical. CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky. MM: Yeah.Yup, those rabid liberals, Noonan and Murphy, dissin' the Alaskan mom. Disgusting.Todd EppKansas Watch http://kswatch.squarespace.com
The Fictional(?) Short Presidency of Sarah Palin
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... IWhile on a visit to the Green Zone in Baghdad on September 11, 2009, President John McCain is severely injured when a suicide bomber makes it past security and detonates a bomb within feet of the President and his group.President McCain is immediately airlifted to Ramstein AFB in Germany, where, on September 14, 2009, he dies from his injuries.Vice President Sarah Palin is sworn in as President from her hunting cabin in Alaska by a federal district court judge.After her brief remarks to the nation, an open radio microphone catches her say, "If only the damn Democrats would have supported this war, that terrorist wouldn't have been so imboldened to kill President McCain."Her unguarded remarks infuriated Democrats and even many Republicans, who believe the remarks were insensitive at best and horribly divisive at a time when Americans need to come together to honor their fallen leader.During subsequent public appearances during President McCain's state funeral, President Palin in visibly shaken and shaking. There are unconfirmed reports on the Daily Kos and The Huffington Post that she has been given sedatives to help her function.Act IIOn September 22-24, 2009, a devastating Category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Mina, hits the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Most of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral is destroyed. But the worst of the problems come as Miami suffered horrific damage, as does Jacksonville. Despite the best efforts of Gov. Charlie Crist, evacuation plans failed because of the crush of traffic. Lawlessness ensued after days of no power, with looting and rioting.When Dr. James Dobson blames Floridians for the Hurricane Mina because they voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden for President (McCain won in 2008 by capturing Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado), President Palin fails to issue a statement condemning Dobson until September 25, 2009. Even Gov. Crist calls Pres. Palin's failure to respond "reprehensible."On September 29, 2009, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies from a heart attack in his sleep. On September 30, 2009, Pres. Palin announces that she wants to ensure the overturning of Roe v. Wade and selected former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline to fill Justice Stevens' vacancy.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calls the pick "the most unqualified and most political nomination in the history of the Republic" and vows that Kline's nomination won't even see a committee hearing.On October 3, 2009, Russia sends tanks and troops into the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lativia, and Lithuania, citing "concerns" over treatment of ethnic Russians in the former Soviet republics. In her 2008 debate with Biden, she had told the nation, "Should Russian aggression enter our allies in the Baltic, and if I were President, I will not let that stand." Pres. Palin sends a carrier group and a division of Marines off the Baltic coast in response. Russia recalls its ambassador to the United States. Satellite photos show a Russian convoy of ships off the coast of Cuba.While pre-occupied with the situation in the Baltic, on October 7, 2009, Iran launches a pre-emptive missile strike against Tel Aviv with chemical weapons. During that same debate with Biden in 2008, Pres. Palin said "an attack on Israel by Iran would be considered an attack on the United States."Pres. Palin asked Congress for a declaration of war against Iran, but Congress refuses to vote for a war with Iran while still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, apparently, the Baltic. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham says that America's armed forces are spread too thin. Congress does pass the first peace time draft since the Vietnam War. College campuses erupt with protests, with the Universities of Michigan, Kansas, Florida, California, and other schools closed because of the violent protests.Meanwhile, rumors continue to circulate, now even being reported by Joe Scarborough on MSNBC, that Pres. Palin has had a nervous breakdown. No one is quite sure who is running the country.Act IIIOn October 21, 2009, Israel has launched nuclear missiles and dropped nuclear bombs on Iran. Tehran is destroyed but turmoil has broken out in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, with all three countries governments being toppled by fundamentalist Muslim radicals. Oil from the Mideast is at a trickle and gasoline prices in the U.S. have hit $9.50/gallon. On October 29, 2009, the Dow Industrials has its biggest percentage loss in its history, losing nearly half of its value in a single day.A group of Republican and Democratic leaders of past and present secretly gather in St. Louis. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and the House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say enough is enough, that Pres. Palin is in over her head. They appoint former Secretaries of State James Baker, Madeleine Albright, and Condeleeza Rice to secretly meet with Pres. Palin with a plan for her to resign.However, the plan is not to have Pres. Palin resign immediately. They approach her with a plan to have former Secretary of State Colin Powell be appointed then confirmed as Vice President. Then once he is confirmed, Pres. Palin is to resign and Vice President Powell is to be President. He will then appoint former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle as Vice President in a "Fusion" ticket to try and reunify the country and put experienced people in place who can deal with the nation's many pressing problems.Pres. Palin at first chaffes at the suggestion that she follow this national unity plan. She says she was elected to do a job. However, Secretary Baker politely but firmly reminds her that she's not getting the job done and even if she was, our adversaries don't respect her. NSA reports that China is assembling an invasion force in the Formosa Straits and it looks like Taiwan could be under attack within days.Palin agrees. On November 4, 2009, she names Secretary Powell as Vice President. On November 9, 2009, citing family concerns, she resigns as President of the United States, only the second President in history to do so. On November 15, 2009, the U.S. Senate confirms Sen. Daschle as Vice President.***I obviously do not want anything to happen to John McCain should he be elected. That would be a terrible tragedy for our country. And the above is a work of fiction. Or is it? I have no doubt that Gov. Palin is a good and successful person. But does she have the experience and respect to be President should the need arise? Is she too much of a partisan on abortion for her own good? Can she stand up to Putin and others?I have my doubts.To read more about Kansas political news and views, go to Kansas Watch at http://kswatch.squarespace.com
How About a Kansas Blogger Meet Up August 29th in Topeka?
I am planning to be in Topeka on August 29th (the Friday before Labor Day) for a meeting. If any of my fellow Kansas bloggers would like to meet up (or really dedicated readers or fellow political junkies), let me know at epplaw(at)gmail(dot)com and let's see if we can set up something.Perhaps we could meet for coffee or at Washburn or at some cool new Topeka hangout and talk blogging and politics (or Chiefs, KU, or KSU football, for that matter). Let me know! I look forward to meeting you.
Fred Phelps and WBC Fool Canada
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... have to hand it to Fred Phelps and his merry band of gay/USA bashers at Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka.The Canadians say they are on the look out for the group, who said they were going to protest an accident victim's funeral in the Great White North.But alas, the angry, hateful, but wiley Topekans fool the Canadians and slip into the country.Makes you tremble a bit if you're a Canadian citizen that their police and border officials can't keep out people who they know are coming.The Winnipeg Sun lets us in on the secret of the Phelps clan's success: Despite an attempt to stop them at the border, members of a fundamentalist U.S. church are in Manitoba and intend to picket Tim McLean Jr.'s funeral today, a spokeswoman for the group claimed yesterday. Shirley Phelps-Roper refused to say where Westboro Baptist Church members slipped past Canadian border guards or how many entered the country overnight Thursday... To avoid any suspicion at the border, WBC members did not have placards with them, said Phelps-Roper, daughter of church pastor Fred Phelps. They sent their signs into Canada by courier and picked them up after they arrived, she said....Thank God it was just placards and not enriched uranium the Phelpsites managed to pre-place for their little escapade.You can say a lot of things about old Fred but stupid is not one of them.Photo: Captains Bob and Doug MacKenzie of the Royal Canadian Immigration and Border Control Ministry?For more Kansas political news, views, and humor, go to Kansas Watch at http://kswatch.squarespace.com
Brownback: Only American Spying Is OK
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e..., Kansas Watch posted the video of Kansas U.S. Senator Sam Brownback blasting China for alleged plans to spy on Americans and others who visit China for the Olympics.But American blogger The Only Redhead in Taiwan basically calls Brownback a hypocrite in a post called "Mr. Brownback, the kettle called:"Just a gentle reminder. Kansas junior Senator voted last year to enacat the Protect America Act, which allows for the federal government to engage in what one commentator says is a ":massive, untargeted collection of international communications without court order or meaningful oversight:" Oh, and Sam also voted for FISA as well.So, Sam doesn't mind it if Americans spy on Americans and others, just not if the Chinese do it too. Sam's more of a "Buy American" kind of guy.An excerpt from the Redhead dude: I want to say that there is something intrinsically different in how US surveillance on suspected threats works, but I have no reason to do so other than the fact that I have faith that the US is freer than the PRC (when, after all, is a Chinese director going to put a biopic out on a sitting PRC chairman?). I'd be interested in hearing from someone as to why it's different when the US does this sort of thing and when the Chinese do it. If, as I presume, there is no difference or very little then the idea that Sen. Brownback of all people is the one to lead the crusade for justice in the PRC is indeed "laughable." Let's not forget that some of the suspected "terrorists" spied on in the US were peace activists and poverty relief advocates. Some of those jailed at Guantanamo Bay were picked based on hearsay from vengeful relatives, later found to have no merit.That's a hell of a track record.Let me reiterate, I think what China is doing is horrible, but I find little difference in what we see our own government doing. This sort of conduct leaves a bitter taste in my mouth wherever it takes place.------Just something to make you go "hmmm."Photo: The Only Redhead in China says Brownback is like kettle calling Red Chinese pot black.(Geez, so many colors to keep track of!) Read more about Kansas politics at Kansas Watch, http://kswatch.squarespace.com
Meanwhile, McCain Channels Captain Queeg
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... think Sen. John McCain has finally lost it.While Sen. Barack Obama has been overseas tearing up crowds, looking Presidential, and making utterly reasonable foreign policy announcements, Sen. McCain has been blathering on about the "success" of "The Surge" in Iraq, mumbling in Captain Queeg-like incoherence about Sen. Obama missing The Surge and how McCain was for The Surge before The Surge was a twinkle in Pres. Bush's eye, and otherwise carrying on about The Surge while the Iraqs have politely told us to GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR COUNTRY--PLEASE!So, I've taken Humphrey Bogart's famous solioquy from The Caine Mutiny, re-written it, and recast Capt. Queeg as Sen. McCain. Captain Queeg: Ahh, but The Surge that's... that's where I had Obama. He laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the Iraq maproom DID exist, and I'd have produced that key if they hadn't of pulled McCain out of action. I, I, I know now they were only trying to protect some fellow Democrats...For more on Kansas politics, read Kansas Watch at http://kswatch.squarespace.com
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- Blog: Iranian Nuclear Energy: Will It Destroy Lives Or Save Them? May 29, 2012 · 6 comments
- Remove politics, and redistricting map falls in line May 27, 2012 · 52 comments
- Kansas tax act most regressive in nation May 27, 2012
- Thread of pain ran through Jackson’s career June 28, 2009
- Hilltop executive director Pat Pisani stepping down May 28, 2012
- Friends mourn Lynn Bretz, former voice of KU May 28, 2012
- Town Talk: UPDATE: Frank Male files for county commission; keep an ear open for local sales tax talk; city hires new city engineer; wholesale water district buys land near Kaw; weekly land transfers May 29, 2012
- How to help: Guides needed for Lamplight Tour of Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park May 27, 2012
- Library kicks off reading program May 27, 2012
- City, county mull upgrade to emergency radio system May 28, 2012
- Experts: Remedial college classes need fixing May 28, 2012
- Book helps family heal after tragedy May 28, 2012
