In a continent that has seen its fair share of international, regional, local and tribal wars, the news coming out of Angola is refreshing. That a country which, until recent times, was enmeshed in a long-running civil war could hold a peaceful election is astounding enough. But the greatest achievement in all this is that the opposition party which had been the enemy of the government until six years ago actually made a concession and this is something to be applauded in this continent that is still one of the most underdeveloped in the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Coalitions, Concession, Democracies, Democracy in Africa, Democratic Elections, Economic Issues, Electoral Processes, Equatorial Guinea, Fair Share, Greatest Achievement, International Observers, Jonas Savimbi, Mpla, Opposition Party, Peaceful Election, Political Independence, Popular Movement, Provisional Results, Spheres, Tranquility, Tribal Wars, Unita
It was John F. Kennedy who said “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
In the light of those very poignant words, we must take issue with the decision of the Republican party to play politics with the deployment of VP candidate Sarah Palin’s son to Iraq. Since when did military deployments become a media blitz? That was exactly how it felt this week with Sarah Palin and the “send off” of her son to Iraq. Is it not ironic that the so-called reformer will start abusing executive power before she even steps into the office of the Vice-President? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Alaska Governor, Cnn, David Gergen, Dishonor, Election Cycle, Entertainment Television, Executive Power, Falsehood, Fort Wainwright, Full Crew, Government Official, Joe Biden, John McCain, Mccain Campaign, Media Blitz, Network Television, Noble Gesture, Poignant Words, Political Manipulation, Politicization, Politicking, Sarah Palin, Senator Joe Biden, Senator John Mccain, Television Cameras, Television Events, Vp Candidate, Whiff
It’s been seven years since the horrible tragedy that was visited on the United States by mindless terrorists and misguided elements. Seven years have gone by when the country lost almost three thousand souls to the attack on 9/11, and seven years have gone by without the major participants in that attack being brought to justice. Seven years have seen the irresponsible use of the names and causes of those innocent victims in the prosecution of a wrong war in Iraq while the real killers of the victims of 9/11 are still roaming the mountains of Afghanistan and their armies seem to be getting stronger in that region. It’s been seven years since the Bush administration and the Republican party put blinders on all Americans about their willingness to bring the perpetrators of 9/11 to justice. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Billions Of Dollars, Building Fences, Bush Administration, Current Administration, Emotional Speeches, Fences, George W Bush, Guise, Horrible Deaths, Horrible Tragedy, Innocent Victims, Killers, No Doubt, Osama Bin Laden, Perpetrators, Plastic Bags, Prosecution, Republican Party, Seven Years, War In Iraq, Willingness, Wrong War
The recent news that two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers landed at Venezuela’s Libertador military airfield and “will spend several days carrying out training flights over neutral waters, after which they will return to the base,” signals, in my mind, the beginning of the second phase of the cold war. As we argued here, with the extraordinary interest the United States has shown in developing a sphere of influence in what Russia considers its backyard, namely Georgia, Ukraine, Poland etc., it was only a matter of time before the Russians returned the favor and there was no mystery as who the favorite target was going to be. So now, Venezuela is in the mix and Russia is getting ready to hold joint naval maneuvers with Venezuela in the Caribbean. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bombers, Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Exploratory Mission, Harbouring, Implication, International Affairs, Latin America, Likelihood, Maneuvers, Matter Of Time, Military Airfield, No Doubt, Recent News, Russian Military, Russian Tupolev, Russians, Second Phase, Sphere Of Influence, Target, Tupolev Tu 160
In her acceptance speech during the convention of the Republican Party, John McCain’s Vice Presidential pick, Sarah Palin of Alaska took the unusual step of disparaging the work of one of the bedrocks of small towns and communities in the United States: Community Organizers. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bedrocks, Civil Rights Movement, Community Organizers, Community Organizing, Defenseless Animals, Elderly Community, Hungry Child, Jane Addams, John Dodds, John L Lewis, John McCain, Living Wages, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr, Paul Wellstone, Ralph Nader, Samuel Gompers, Sarah Palin, Suffrage Movement, United States Community, Welfare Services
For quite some time now, I have often found myself asking the question “Why does the greatest country in the world keep making stupid political blunders in terms of foreign policy?”. The evidence of this myopic and sometimes disastrous political miscalculations are broad and varied: from starting local wars in the Far East to supporting brutal dictators in Africa; encouraging corruption in Latin America to sponsoring terrorist organizations and “freedom fighters” in the Middle East and Asia to bankrolling repressive regimes in the West Indies. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Assassination Attempts, Assassinations, Blind Eye, Careful Analysis, Corruption In Latin America, Dictators, Freedom Fighters, Hezbollah, Illegal Drug Trade, Institutions Of Higher Learning, Intellectual Class, Intelligentsia, National Conflicts, Policy Analysts, Political Blunders, Quite Some Time, Repressive Regimes, Research Fellows, Separatist Movements, Supreme Leader, United States Of America, war, Weapons