Right wing commentary on world politics from a man on a mission to prove that Conservatism transcends national boundaries. Thoughtful comments from people of all political persuasions are welcome and encouraged. Contact the blogger at elephantman.conservaglobe@gmail.com.

Monday, October 30, 2006

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Oct. 22-28, 2006

PERSON OF THE WEEK:
BARACK OBAMA
U.S. SENATOR FROM ILLONOIS
COLUMN COMING SOON

Sunday, October 15, 2006

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Oct. 8-14, 2006

Five decades after war left the Korean penninsula in ruins, it is interesting to note the radically different ways that North and South Korea have developed. On Monday, both achieved major milestones in their histories. South Korea celebrated as it's foreign minister, Ban Ki-Moon, was nominated by the U.N. Security Council to be the next Secratary General of the United Nations. Meanwhile, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il was celebrating his nation's first test of a nuclear weapon. South Korea has chosen to join the world community is thriving. North Korea has chosen isolation and paranoia - and all is has to show for it is a lot of weapons, a starving population, and arguably the worst reputation in the world. So, for providing an amazingly glaring example of the right and wrong way to run a country, Ban Ki-Moon and Kim Jong Il are ConservaGlobe's Persons of the Week.

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Friday, October 13, 2006

2006 Nobel Peace Prize: Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank

(Click for link to Wikipedia biography)

The Norwegian Nobel Committee finally got it right this year, awarding the Peace Prize to a great man who has done the world a great service, Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh. While I will admit to having never heard his name before this morning, but I have been a huge fan of the revolutionary concept that he developed, microcredit. In fact, I think that it may be the best way of fighting poverty yet developed.

Yunus founded Grameen Bank in 1983 in order to do what no other bank would, loan very small amounts (usually less than $200) to poor families in order to help them improve their livelihood. This new concept has proven extremely effective, as the duty of repayment motivates the borrowers to build a successful business. The vast majority of borrowers are able to successfully go into business, and 98.85% of al Grameen loans are fully repaid. Microcredit is also a sustainable form of charity, as microfinance institutions can use the minimal interest that they charge to pay some of their operating expenses.

Yunus is also helping to elevate the status of women in Bangladesh, because 97% of his loans go to women. Why? Because they usually have a family to take care of an hence are extremely motivated to create a successful.

Today, microcredit institutions based on the Grameen Bank model exist all around the world. Grameen Bank itself claims 6.6 million borrowers and provides services to 70,000 different villages around Bangladesh. The best part is that all of these people were helped not by massive government handouts, but by good old-fashioned capitalism applied in a clever manner.

Congratulations to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for winning the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. You more than earned it!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

PERSON OF THE WEEK - 0ct. 1-7, 2006


This week's award goes to a man who may not have made any headlines, but who did a great service by keeping them from being made. After learning that the Westboro Baptist Church planned on protesting the funerals of the Amish girls slain in Pennsylvania, Mike Gallagher decided that he wasn't going to let it happen. Instead of just complaining, the nationally syndicated conservative radio host contacted the church and made them an offer they couldn't refuse: one hour of national airtime in exchange for leaving the Amish alone. They accepted.

On Friday, October 6th, two radicals from the Westboro Baptist Church took the helm of the Mike Gallagher Show for one hour - and the Amish buried their dead in peace. Gallagher's move was bold, and some have criticized it, but I found it to be one of the more amazing displays of selfless compassion that I have seen in quite some time (as I am sure tht it was painful for Gallagher to see his show hijacked by such twisted minds). So, be thankful to Mike Gallagher for making sure that nobody was reading about the Westboro Baptist Church in their newspapers this week.

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Monday, October 02, 2006

South Korean to Become U.N. Secretary General


A straw poll today at the U.N. Security Council indicates that South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is all but assured of being elected Secretary General of the United Nations. 14 of 15 Security Council members rated Ban as "favorable" (one abstention), including all five veto-weilding members. A formal vote of the Security Council will be held next Monday, and the winner will be submitted to the General Asembly for a vote. Second-place finisher Shashi Tharoor of India said, "It is clear that he will be our next secretary general. I wish Mr. Ban every success in that task. I will strongly support him." I am not in a position to comment on Mr. Ban's political views at this time because I know very little about him. For more info on the U.N.'s next leader, click Ban's name under his picture.

Ban bested a field of five other candidates:
Shashi Tharoor, the U.N.'s Undersecretary General for Communications
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia
Surakiart Sathirathai, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand before last week's coup.
Prince Zeid al-Hussein, Jordan's ambassador to the U.N.
Ashraf Ghani, former finance minister of Afghanistan

Kofi Annan's term as Secretary General expires at the end of December.

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Sep. 24-30, 2006

I hate weeks like this. I hate having to blog about disgusting acts committed by sick people, especially when there are much more important thing going on in the world (in the grand scheme of things). That said, I find it hard to deny that Congressman Mark Foley really shook up Washington this week.

Mr. Foley's sexually-charged e-mails to a 16 year-old former page are inexcusable, especially for a man know as a crusader against child-pornography, and I am glad that this man is no longer sitting in the United States Congress. Will his actions affect the coming midterm elections? It's too early to tell. I personally don't think that this is a Republican-Democrat issue, and I hope that both the voters and the Democratic Party realize that fact. If you want proof that this is not a partisan matter, Democratic Congressman Gerry Studds was censured by the House in 1983 for having sex with a 17 year old male page (he also went on to win five more terms after his censure).

I personally doubt that there was any sort of cover-up, but heads should roll if there was - regardless of party.

So, for sending shockwaves through Congress and thoroughly grossing out the nation, Mark Foley is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

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