From the Christian Science Monitor, a good piece on a rebuilding Liberia. One of the better things George Bush did behind the scenes, though of course he won't get the credit he deserves. At the end there's the usual bleating to save foreign aid.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#3
George W Bush did all he could for Africa.
He took more care of anyone there than any President.
Liberia needs to be always in focus. We have obligations that must be filled and removed from. It is a responsibility for all of us to work ourselves out of a job.
Liberia must be cared for. THIS is not a regular country. Sirleaf has done well I think, but maybe we need to look at this country more.. It is one thing that is true that this is OUR responsibility., Lincoln old school.
#4
One of the more interesting ideas I've read, specific to Liberia, is an odd one.
The US has a lot of essentially unemployable, black ex-cons, who are likely not to re-offend for many reasons, but who have no future in the US.
So why not give them the equivalent of Peace Corps training, with the idea that they could go to Liberia, earn their Liberian citizenship through "good works", and be able to start fresh?
It would be set up under very strict rules, so that if they fouled up, they would be sent back to the US and lose their chance at a new life, and if they re-offended in Liberia, they would be under Liberian jurisdiction.
At the start they would be paid for their work in US dollars at US wages. 1 USD is worth 75 Liberian dollars, so even being paid US minimum wage, they would do very well on the Liberian economy.
Even what we think of as common skills could be very valuable in Liberia, and training for these skills could begin while many were still in prison, with an opportunity that would be a huge motivator to do well before they got out.
Likewise, their probation could be active schooling, with careful evaluation of behavior before they were put on the plane.
The alternative to this, btw, is that they remain public charges in the US, with a high likelihood to re-offend, because they cannot get legitimate work.
If the Supreme Court decision goes against the individual mandate, the progressive imagination will be haunted for decades by what historians will consider one of the great legislative and political blunders of all time. A rare perfect storm of political forces brought liberals the most power they have had since 1934 and 1964. If history records that this generations progressive leaders threw that moment of power away by an easily correctable mistake in legislative draftmanship, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will be forever remembered as the greatest legislative bunglers in American history. College students in generations yet unborn will rub their eyes in disbelief when they get to this part of the story.
(Indeed, when we consider what future students will think about an era that includes the Lewinsky affair, the Y2K and bird flu panics, the WMD mistake in Iraq, and then, if the Court rules against it, the healthcare fiasco, it is easy to see why the Baby Boom is looking more and more like a generation of clowns.)
I am less worried about the bitter mockery of future generations, however, than I am about what is in the rest of the bill. Even if the Court upholds it, it is clear that sheer arrogance and legislative incompetence led the architects of this massive reform to endanger their own handiwork by clumsy design.
An inescapable question unavoidably follows. If the authors of this historic reform were that careless and clueless about the central pillar of their plan, what else did they get wrong? What other incompetencies and tomfooleries lie hidden in the depths of this bill? How many perverse and unintended consequences will emerge as the consequences of this law unfold? What clever lobbyists managed to get provisions embedded in the text that will make healthcare more expensive and less effective than it could and should have been?
#1
If the authors of this historic reform were that careless and clueless about the central pillar of their plan, what else did they get wrong? What other incompetencies and tomfooleries lie hidden in the depths of this bill? How many perverse and unintended consequences will emerge as the consequences of this law unfold?
It would be a lot shorter list to ask "What did they get right?"
[Dawn] There is nothing like success or even the prospects of it, which are now all too visible via the wide grin that Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... has been sporting of late. He's speaking less of the drone attacks and of engaging the Taliban, his pet plank on which he re-launched his political career after the recovery and killing of the late Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead. in May by the US navy SEALS in Abbotabad; ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its pleasant weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... there's less anti-America rhetoric and general bitterness in his speech, and more optimism writ on his face. Optimism to be the third, emerging and growing political force that will challenge corrupt politicians and bring them to justice.
IK's is no more the face of Pakistain's anger against itself and the world but one that's cautiously embracing hope and confidence, as more and more known political figures join the PTI, even if the new entrants are certified turncoats. He can explain it, for he is bothered to step out of the city life and urban myths and take cognisance of Pakistain's rural political culture where the waderas, the sardars, the Khans and the biradari heads are the real vote-getters. Even the MQM is not his bete noire anymore, and he's willing to go half way to neutralise that party's rancour against him.
Exuding new hope and confidence, a darling of the media that he's always been, IK says he believes that the turncoats who may join his party will be on their way to reforming themselves because he, sitting at the top of party leadership, is not corrupt -- as if corruption only trickles down from the top. A lot is being said about IK being the latest blue-eyed boy of the military establishment but much of it is being dismissed by his supporters as propaganda by his opponents who risk losing their votes to the PTI. Such speculation, however, is only half the truth because nothing moves in our politics without a wink from the right quarters.
If IK's rising public support means that for now the military is at the very best neutral in his regard and would not hamper his campaign, that's a lot of achievement there already. But the assertion on IK's part that the military pressures only corrupt politicians is a bit immature, because that institution alone is the biggest stakeholder in a stable Pakistain. The military inc., to borrow from Ayesha Siddiqa, needs political stability more than any other arm of the state to carry out its entrenched non-military -- read business -- transactions with massive stakes in the economy. That is the real strategic depth that the military establishment has built for itself within our own borders.
Whether the political dispensation that safeguards those interests is truly representative is of little concern to the military establishment. Besides, there's nothing that IK says in terms of his policy on key issues that can upset the generals; much of what he says is actually music to their ears. His embrace of the post-71 myths of the manufactured and establishment-propagated Pakistain Ideology of a welfare Moslem state is complete and abiding. That this ideology is and shall remain elusive because it's too utopian an idea, is beyond his grasp. His hawkish line on India, despite the expressed desire to better relations, with conditions attached, just completes the picture.
While IK in his massive Lahore rally for the first time spoke of the alienation of the Baloch people, it's worth noting that he only mentioned the Baloch after telling the crowd that their province had an immense wealth of natural resources which could help steer Pakistain out of troubled economic waters. A more circumspect politician would have been more discreet by at least distancing the two sentences about the wealth of the Baloch and their political alienation and the need to do something about it.
Instead, what he surmised is as follows: the (minority) Baloch should be brought to the mainstream because of their natural resources which are waiting to be exploited. He had no word of sympathy for the increasing plight and alienation of the other (religious) minorities or women of this country, which together form a majority of the population. Ostensibly because they have no such exploitable resources buried under their feet?
Just like the All India Moslem League in 1947, which had no studied blue print to run a state once it was achieved, IK's revolution for building a new Pakistain has only rhetorical ground to stand on. His battle cry is, 'if you want justice, come to Tehrik-i-Insaf; just like the League's was, 'if you are Moslem, come to Moslem League'. And like the League, IK's sense of rights and justice is not all inclusive. When he speaks of justice, he's talking more about bringing the corrupt (politicians alone) to justice rather than upholding justice for all.
This is not the medicine that people like me need to cure, or even manage, their cynicism.
Not just yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] PRESIDENT Bashir al-Assad's international isolation is deepening. The UN has condemned his brutality, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has slapped sanctions, the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... has suspended Syria's membership and the Organisation of Islamic Conference has come out with an unusually strong warning. The Arab League's ire is understandable. On Nov 2, Arab foreign ministers gave Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... 15 days to implement its plan, which asked it to end the crackdown on civilians, withdraw troops from protest hubs, release the detainees, negotiate with the opposition and allow foreign observers in. The AL also threatened to close its embassies in Damascus and to negotiate with all "currents" of the opposition. The AL decision was not unanimous, but the fact that only two members -- Yemen and Leb (besides the regime's representative) -- voted against it shows that an overwhelming majority of Arab opinion considers the Assad government guilty. The AL felt humiliated when pro-regime supporters attacked the Qatar and Saudi embassies, besides those of La Belle France and Turkey. The Arab League is meeting again today to review the situation, because there were some doubts about the utility of the Nov 2 decision. Nevertheless, given the deteriorating situation, Mr Assad's options are getting fewer and fewer.
There are desertions in the army on a larger scale, the casualty toll --3,500 deaths -- is approaching the Libyan figure, and protests have spread to outlying areas. Over the past two days alone, some 70 people have been killed in festivities between protesters and security forces. While a Libya-like foreign intervention is not feasible or desirable, both AL and OIC have given hints about what lies in store for Syria. The AL said it would have to consider seeking international protection for Syrian civilians, and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu warned that the intransigence of the regime risked an internationalisation of the Syrian crisis. Whether Mr Assad has learnt from Col Qadaffy's ... who is now napping peacefully in the dirt... fate we do not know. But a widening of the internal conflict, especially in a country that borders Israel, will have geopolitical ramifications, unless sense dawns on Mr Assad. As Mr Ihsanoglu said an internationalisation of the crisis would not be "in anybody's interest".
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Daffy had the option of take the money and run. I don't think Assad has that option. The fate of the Alawites is too closely tied to his. Any attempt to run and he'd be dead before he made it to the airport.
I'm rather baffled by the AL position. Assad's only option is to keep killing protestors. The UNSC isn't going to do anything, nor is NATO.
The AL proposal to send in 500 observers is frankly bizzare, unless they are accompanied by a couple of armoured brigades. And where would they come from? Saudi?
#3
I ha&ve mixed feelings about El Assad: He is a pan-Arab nationalist but he is also an Alawite (a branch of chiism that and enmity with Sadam made for ties with Iran) ie people whose "Musliminess" is very thin: they drink alcohol, their women don't wear hijabs ans have a degree of freedom unknown in the Arab world and finally, but perhaps I confound them with the Ahmedists they don't face towards Mecch for praying.
In other words for orthodox Muslims they are marginally better than Kaffirs, perhaps even Kaffirs who "disguised" as Muslims to avoid discriminations and pogroms. I am wary of rebels who are being sponsored by Saudi Arabia and Quatar: anyone sponsored by them can't be good.
#4
Saudi Arabia must be the oddest relationship we have in this world. The bred our radical enemy, but tampered back on it and actually became allies by default due to Iran. Iran's sponsoring of Hezbollah through baby Assad is in close proximity in Saudi Arabia's eye.
Do not forget also, their meddling in Lebanon. Such a tragic thing.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Dawn] There is nothing like success or even the prospects of it, which are now all too visible via the wide grin that 
[Dawn] PRESIDENT Bashir al-Assad's international isolation is deepening. The UN has condemned his brutality, the 
