Hey Everyone,
We've had a lot of complaints about comments section not working correctly, so I did a little tinkering with the settings. Hopefully this should solve the problem.
Adam Brickley
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Two Interviews
I couldn't decide which of these videos to post, so we're going with both, because they are both relevant. The first is one of my new favorite Congressmen (and hopefully potential Senator) Joseph Cao. He's been on the warpath lately regarding corruption in FEMA's New Orleans office. He's pulling no punches, as you will see in this interview with a local TV station. Go Cao!
Click here to watch.
Second, I wanted to show you this recent Newsweek interview with Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu Party in Israel. I've yacked about Lieberman quite a lot on this blog, both positive and negative, and so I figured I would take this opportunity to let him speak for himself here.
Click here to watch.
Second, I wanted to show you this recent Newsweek interview with Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu Party in Israel. I've yacked about Lieberman quite a lot on this blog, both positive and negative, and so I figured I would take this opportunity to let him speak for himself here.
Monday, March 2, 2009
...and now for something REALLY SCARY
See the little red dot on that map of Africa? That's an itty-bitty country called Guinea-Bissau, and there are two reasons that you need to know about it. The first is President João Bernardo Vieira (the creepy-looking guy pictured above), who was assassinated this morning by rogue elements in the military. That, in itself, is enough to justify paying attention for a few hours. Unfortunately, African leaders get plugged far too often, so it's the second reason that really makes this development scary.Guinea-Bissau may seem like a run-of-the-mill Third World backwater, but nothing could be further from the truth (see video below...you REALLY should watch that).
In fact, the country has become a key linchpin in the international drug trade since 2005. Colombian cocaine cartels have figured out that the government has almost no control of the place, and hence it has become the ideal place to to trans-ship cocaine on its way to the European market (large loads of coke get shipped into the Guinea-Bissau hub, where they are then broken up and shipped around Europe). Needless to say, the effect on society has not been positive, especially when you consider that Guinea-Bissau ranked 175th out of 177 countries on the UN's Human Development Index - which means that it makes Ethiopia look like "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous".
The UN said that Guinea-Bissau was in danger of becoming "Africa's first narco-state", and I think that that the transformation took a dramatic leap forward this week. The local strongman, President Vieira, is dead. In addition, Vieira's top political rival, Gen. Batista Tagme Na Waie (head of the military), was blown to smithereens on Saturday. There is a total power vacuum, and my guess is that the situation will only get worse. Nobody is currently implicating the cartels in either assassination, but I would be flabbergasted if they weren't involved in both.
As I see it, Guinea-Bissau is no longer "in danger of becoming Africa's first narco-state". It BECAME Africa's first narco-state this morning. Now think about this...Guinea-Bissau is on the edge of the Islamic-Christian religious divide in Africa - so the Latin American cocaine cartels are now operating on turf where radical Islam is looking for a toe-hold. Birds of a feather flock together, and when the jihadis set up shop in Guinea-Bissau, this lawless West African backwater could become the birthplace of a toxic alliance between two of the world's two most malevolent forces. Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion, but the potential confluence of radical Islam and the Latin American drug cartels scares the heck out of me.
*Photo of President Vieira and map taken from Wikipedia, both licensed under Creative Commons, see links for details
Thursday, February 26, 2009
John Bolton for President?
Crossposted at Race42012.com
Okay, nobody freak out. I am not…let me repeat…NOT jumping off the Palin bandwagon - not even close. Sarah is my candidate in 2012, period. That said, I think there is a serious problem with our overall field of potential primary candidates: they’re ALL governors
Don’t get me wrong, I like Governors, they make great nominees – but I’m starting to get unnerved by the potential of a primary contested solely by domestic policy experts. Palin, Romney, Huckabee, Pawlenty, Jindal, Crist - ALL lack foreign policy credentials, and it’s going to be harder to give those issues their due if no-one in the field is really well-schooled in that department. In my humble opinion, there absolutely MUST be at least one candidate in the race who can make sure that all of the candidates – including my beloved Sarah – get their feet held to the fire regarding terrorism, defense, international relations, and national security. Some have suggested that David Patraeus could make a wild-card run, but I personally think that’s a pipe dream. Instead, we need to find somebody willing to become a second-tier, single-issue candidate who is in the race in order to channel the debate (much in the way that Tancredo and Hunter kept Immigration relevant in the 2008 primaries…love ‘em or hate ‘em, it worked).
I had previously thought about suggesting firebrand think-tank head Frank Gaffney for this role, but even I knew that was a bit of a stretch. However, after attending yesterday’s session of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), I realized that I had been neglecting one of the conservative movement’s most forceful and eloquent voices on foreign policy issues – Former U.N. Ambassador John “The ‘Stache” Bolton.
As far as I’m concerned, Ambassador Bolton is the complete package politically – he’s ridiculously smart, has a memorable personality, seems to have a lot of fire in his belly, and (most importantly) is one of the more dynamic speakers I’ve seen. He positively brought the house down at CPAC this morning, and I remember that he did the same last year. Anyone would be hard-pressed to handle him in a foreign policy debate, and his dynamism might even give him a chance of pulling off a Huckabee-esque breakout – especially considering that he would have a virtual lock on security-focused voters. The only real problem is that he can be a bit of a bomb-thrower, but that can be an asset in a primary campaign, and it’s definitely a good thing if he were to find himself in contention for the VP slot after the primaries (I would pay good money to see a Biden-Bolton smackdown).
The biggest question is what’s in it for Ambassador Bolton if he doesn’t win (which would be a pretty good bet). Well, he could put himself in the catbird seat for Secretary of State or National Security Advisor if the GOP nominee defeated Obama - or he could use his momentum to launch his own policy organization, dramatically raise his profile in the media, and cement his position as the right’s dominant voice on foreign policy. As I see it, he really can’t lose.
So, do you think that we are going to need a “security candidate” in the 2012 race, and if so, what to you think of the idea of drafting The ‘Stache?
Okay, nobody freak out. I am not…let me repeat…NOT jumping off the Palin bandwagon - not even close. Sarah is my candidate in 2012, period. That said, I think there is a serious problem with our overall field of potential primary candidates: they’re ALL governors
Don’t get me wrong, I like Governors, they make great nominees – but I’m starting to get unnerved by the potential of a primary contested solely by domestic policy experts. Palin, Romney, Huckabee, Pawlenty, Jindal, Crist - ALL lack foreign policy credentials, and it’s going to be harder to give those issues their due if no-one in the field is really well-schooled in that department. In my humble opinion, there absolutely MUST be at least one candidate in the race who can make sure that all of the candidates – including my beloved Sarah – get their feet held to the fire regarding terrorism, defense, international relations, and national security. Some have suggested that David Patraeus could make a wild-card run, but I personally think that’s a pipe dream. Instead, we need to find somebody willing to become a second-tier, single-issue candidate who is in the race in order to channel the debate (much in the way that Tancredo and Hunter kept Immigration relevant in the 2008 primaries…love ‘em or hate ‘em, it worked).
I had previously thought about suggesting firebrand think-tank head Frank Gaffney for this role, but even I knew that was a bit of a stretch. However, after attending yesterday’s session of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), I realized that I had been neglecting one of the conservative movement’s most forceful and eloquent voices on foreign policy issues – Former U.N. Ambassador John “The ‘Stache” Bolton.
As far as I’m concerned, Ambassador Bolton is the complete package politically – he’s ridiculously smart, has a memorable personality, seems to have a lot of fire in his belly, and (most importantly) is one of the more dynamic speakers I’ve seen. He positively brought the house down at CPAC this morning, and I remember that he did the same last year. Anyone would be hard-pressed to handle him in a foreign policy debate, and his dynamism might even give him a chance of pulling off a Huckabee-esque breakout – especially considering that he would have a virtual lock on security-focused voters. The only real problem is that he can be a bit of a bomb-thrower, but that can be an asset in a primary campaign, and it’s definitely a good thing if he were to find himself in contention for the VP slot after the primaries (I would pay good money to see a Biden-Bolton smackdown).
The biggest question is what’s in it for Ambassador Bolton if he doesn’t win (which would be a pretty good bet). Well, he could put himself in the catbird seat for Secretary of State or National Security Advisor if the GOP nominee defeated Obama - or he could use his momentum to launch his own policy organization, dramatically raise his profile in the media, and cement his position as the right’s dominant voice on foreign policy. As I see it, he really can’t lose.
So, do you think that we are going to need a “security candidate” in the 2012 race, and if so, what to you think of the idea of drafting The ‘Stache?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Getting Ready for CPAC
Hey everyone, the internet at my house has been blown out recently...so life's been a little crazy. That said, I'm going to be at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) until Saturday, and I'm going to try to put in as many updates as I can.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Avigdor Lieberman? Foreign Minister? Oy Vey!
I can't believe I'm still talking about Israel, but I guess it saves me the trouble of bellyaching about the stimulus package and rest of the depressing news out of the Obama Administration...and you probably find it more interesting than the other story I'm watching, which is the unrest in the French-owned Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique (which you may hear about soon). And, since Sen. Roland Burris isn't resigning yet, we're going to do an update on Israeli coalition negotiations.
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is going to be Prime Minister, but other than that, everything else is up in the air. Bibi seemed prepared to offer the Kadima Party full partnership in the government, with leader Tzipi Livni keeping her job as Foreign Minister and Kadima #2 man Shaul Mofaz taking the Defense Ministry. Sweet deal, but Livni told him to take a hike...she wanted a rotation deal where she would take over as Prime Minister in two years and serve out the second half of Bibi's term. So, Netanyahu had to turn to the left wing Labor Party to save his hopes of forming broad-based "unity government"...but they essentially told him to take a flying leap. There will likely be a second meeting between Netanyahu in Livni, but at this point it looks like the country will instead be governed by a narrow coalition of right-wing parties...which brings us back (once again) to Israel's most fascinating and eccentric politician, Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party.
With Kadima and Labor both rejecting the opportunity to join the Netanyahu Administration, it will now be paramount for the Prime Minister to keep all of his coalition partners happy. Of course, the largest single partner will be Lieberman and his following of hardcore nationalists, and it looks like Lieberman has decided what he wants in exchange for propping up Netanyahu. It's not the Defense Ministry (where I thought he could end up), it's the Foreign Ministry.
Now, let me try to paint a picture of how difficult of a spot this could put Netanyahu in. Let us pretend that America has an Israeli-style government, and John McCain is the Prime Minister-designate. The Republican Party only holds a quarter of the seats Parliament, and Prime Minister McCain's original plan had been to form a coalition with the Moderate Party of America, led by Hillary Clinton (equivalent to Livni and Kadima), but she turned him down. He then turned to the Socialist Party, led by Barack Obama (equivalent to the Labor Party), who also refused (thank goodness). Left with no other option, McCain must turn to the illegal-immigration-focused America First Party, led by firebrand Rep. Tom Tancredo (equal to Lieberman and Yisrael Beiteinu). This actually seems like a decent fit, as the two have a lot in common on spending and foreign relations, and it would be workable except for one thing...in exchange for his support, Tancredo demands that McCain make him Secretary of State.
I don't care what you think of Rep. Tancredo, it would be hard to imagine giving the country's top diplomatic position to an anti-illegal firebrand who is not exactly known for his tact. In the same way, Netanyahu might have to swallow hard before giving the Foreign Ministry to Avigdor Lieberman, who campaigned on the idea of revoking the citizenship of Israeli Arabs unless they take some sort of loyalty pledge...it's a PR nightmare. My guess is that Bibi will try to wheel and deal by offering him another Cabinet position, but assuming Livni doesn't have a change of heart, it seems likely that Lieberman will get what he wants. There are only three top-tier Cabinet ministries: Foreign, Defense, and Finance - and Bibi really wants to keep Lieberman away from the Defense Ministry (equal to Secretary of Defense). I don't think Lieberman is much of an economist - so he's not going to want the Finance Ministry (Treasury Secretary). Hence, it's probably a good bet that Lieberman will become Foreign Minister. Putting him in charge of Israel's relations with the rest of the world is a scary prospect...but putting him in charge of the military would be much scarier.
So, my fellow Americans...get ready to meet Israel's most eccentric leader, as he's now likely to be the first guy you see on CNN whenever Israel ends up in the news. If nothing else, he will definitely be entertaining.
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is going to be Prime Minister, but other than that, everything else is up in the air. Bibi seemed prepared to offer the Kadima Party full partnership in the government, with leader Tzipi Livni keeping her job as Foreign Minister and Kadima #2 man Shaul Mofaz taking the Defense Ministry. Sweet deal, but Livni told him to take a hike...she wanted a rotation deal where she would take over as Prime Minister in two years and serve out the second half of Bibi's term. So, Netanyahu had to turn to the left wing Labor Party to save his hopes of forming broad-based "unity government"...but they essentially told him to take a flying leap. There will likely be a second meeting between Netanyahu in Livni, but at this point it looks like the country will instead be governed by a narrow coalition of right-wing parties...which brings us back (once again) to Israel's most fascinating and eccentric politician, Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party.
With Kadima and Labor both rejecting the opportunity to join the Netanyahu Administration, it will now be paramount for the Prime Minister to keep all of his coalition partners happy. Of course, the largest single partner will be Lieberman and his following of hardcore nationalists, and it looks like Lieberman has decided what he wants in exchange for propping up Netanyahu. It's not the Defense Ministry (where I thought he could end up), it's the Foreign Ministry.
Now, let me try to paint a picture of how difficult of a spot this could put Netanyahu in. Let us pretend that America has an Israeli-style government, and John McCain is the Prime Minister-designate. The Republican Party only holds a quarter of the seats Parliament, and Prime Minister McCain's original plan had been to form a coalition with the Moderate Party of America, led by Hillary Clinton (equivalent to Livni and Kadima), but she turned him down. He then turned to the Socialist Party, led by Barack Obama (equivalent to the Labor Party), who also refused (thank goodness). Left with no other option, McCain must turn to the illegal-immigration-focused America First Party, led by firebrand Rep. Tom Tancredo (equal to Lieberman and Yisrael Beiteinu). This actually seems like a decent fit, as the two have a lot in common on spending and foreign relations, and it would be workable except for one thing...in exchange for his support, Tancredo demands that McCain make him Secretary of State.
I don't care what you think of Rep. Tancredo, it would be hard to imagine giving the country's top diplomatic position to an anti-illegal firebrand who is not exactly known for his tact. In the same way, Netanyahu might have to swallow hard before giving the Foreign Ministry to Avigdor Lieberman, who campaigned on the idea of revoking the citizenship of Israeli Arabs unless they take some sort of loyalty pledge...it's a PR nightmare. My guess is that Bibi will try to wheel and deal by offering him another Cabinet position, but assuming Livni doesn't have a change of heart, it seems likely that Lieberman will get what he wants. There are only three top-tier Cabinet ministries: Foreign, Defense, and Finance - and Bibi really wants to keep Lieberman away from the Defense Ministry (equal to Secretary of Defense). I don't think Lieberman is much of an economist - so he's not going to want the Finance Ministry (Treasury Secretary). Hence, it's probably a good bet that Lieberman will become Foreign Minister. Putting him in charge of Israel's relations with the rest of the world is a scary prospect...but putting him in charge of the military would be much scarier.
So, my fellow Americans...get ready to meet Israel's most eccentric leader, as he's now likely to be the first guy you see on CNN whenever Israel ends up in the news. If nothing else, he will definitely be entertaining.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Prime Minister Netanyahu!
Ten days after the elections in Israel, we finally know who won the Prime Minister's office. Earlier today, Yisrael Beiteinu Party leader Avigdor Lieberman announced that he would be throwing his support behind Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu when he recommends a Prime Minister to President Shimon Peres. So, while Netanyahu's Likud Party finished second in the elections, he now has the support of both the third-place party (Yisrael Beiteinu) and the fifth-place party (Shas). This puts him within 10 votes of a majority in the 120 seat Knesset with a total of 53 seats (27 Likud, 15 Yisrael Beiteinu, 11 Shas). Theoretically, this leaves Likud in a position to form a coalition of only right-wing parties if necessary (although that is not the preference of either Netanyahu or Lieberman)
Meanwhile, Tzipi Livni of the first place Kadima party is getting no love from her potential coalition partners, as neither the left-wing Labor Party nor the far-left Meretz Party will be recommending that President Peres tap Livni for Prime Minister (they will endorse no one). At this point, Livni has pretty much conceded defeat, announcing that she will reject an offer to join Netanyahu's coalition government - denying him the national unity government he wants (Personally, I think she's quite a sore loser). That said, Netanyahu probably will get a broad coalition, as he is still likely try to bring in the Labor Party.
Either way...we can now finally congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu on his return to power after ten years in the wilderness.
WELCOME BACK, BIBI!
Meanwhile, Tzipi Livni of the first place Kadima party is getting no love from her potential coalition partners, as neither the left-wing Labor Party nor the far-left Meretz Party will be recommending that President Peres tap Livni for Prime Minister (they will endorse no one). At this point, Livni has pretty much conceded defeat, announcing that she will reject an offer to join Netanyahu's coalition government - denying him the national unity government he wants (Personally, I think she's quite a sore loser). That said, Netanyahu probably will get a broad coalition, as he is still likely try to bring in the Labor Party.
Either way...we can now finally congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu on his return to power after ten years in the wilderness.
WELCOME BACK, BIBI!
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