Adam Brickley's ConservaGlobe

Ruby Dhalla: The Next Barack Obama?

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:22:00 +0000

I normally don’t go around giving advice to people I disagree with, let alone people in foreign countries who I disagree with. Yet, in this particular case I just can’t resist. While I’ve been busy with the Draft Palin movement lately, I’ve also been entranced by this year’s election in Canada. Of course, I was thrilled at the re-election of Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper. However, I was even more intrigued by the total collapse of the once-dominant Liberal Party of Canada.

Once considered Canada’s “natural governing party” the Liberals imploded in the October 15th general election - they suffered their worst defeat in history in terms of popular vote, won only 77 out of 308 seat in Parliament. Not surprisingly, party leader Stephane Dion gave up his position, making him the first Liberal leader in over a century to never occupy the Prime Minister’s office. His resignation triggers a race for the party leadership, roughly equivalent to presidential primaries here in the States, to be decided at a convention next May.
Now, here’s why I’m telling you all this: I may be a conservative, but I am not a political sadist. the Liberals seem intent on nailing their own coffin shut by selecting a leader who will divide their party, suffer another crushing defeat to the Conservatives, and potentially leave an opening for the socialist New Democratic Party (NDP) to make huge gains (something that would be REALLY scary). However, there is also a profound opportunity available to them.

Three members of Parliament have already entered the race: Former Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff, Former Premier of Ontario Bob Rae (a recent defector from the NDP), and rising star Dominic LeBlanc. We’ll get to the one candidate who hasn’t decided yet in a minute. Ignatieff and Rae almost tore the party apart in the 2006 leadership race, their camps became so polarized that the now -disgraced Stephane Dion (who entered the convention in fourth place) was able to run up the middle by picking up the support of all the minor candidates as they were eliminated (the delegates vote, the last-place candidate is eliminated, they vote again..simple process). It is likely that the same thing will happen this time, making it impossible for the party to unify after the election (Rae’s people couldn’t follow Ignatieff and vice-versa). LeBlanc has the benefit of being young (40) and has the backing of a number of important people, but I just don’t see him having enough “oomph” to match either of the two frontrunners, and I think he would do poorly in a national election . All three are horrible choices, and most of the potential minor candidates have bowed out in an attempt to avoid the type of multi-candidate circus that brought Dion to power. So, the Liberals are dead, right? Wrong. There is one candidate still deciding whether to enter, and she should scare the living daylights out of our beloved Prime Minister Harper and his Conservatives. Meet Dr. Ruby Dhalla.

At only 34 years of age, Dhalla is a political prodigy. She extremely well spoken, SCARY smart, and has already built a career on the idea of getting young people more involved in politics (remind you of a certain President-elect?). In addition to being by far the youngest leadership hopeful in party history, the small number of candidates would make her both the only woman and the only minority in the race. As I see it, she is looking at her perfect storm. For one, Ignatieff and Rae will likely repeat their 2006 performance and polarize the party, leaving a massive opening for a spoiler to run up the middle. Dominic LeBlanc wants that hole, but he doesn’t have enough gas to get all the way through it (and his French name will draw lots of Dion comparisons). Dhalla, on the other hand, could gain a lot of steam by monopolizing the votes of youth, women, her fellow Indian-Canadians, and possibly other ethnic minorities. With the right strategy, she could quickly elbow LeBlanc out of third place and start peeling votes from both Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae (who are too focused on each other to see her coming up behind them). At the very least, she would enter the convention in a solid third place, and could probably gain LeBlanc’s endorsement after he is eliminated. This is exactly how Stphane Dion got into the final in 2006. By securing the backing of fourth-place candidate Gerard Kennedy, Dion catapulted past the second-place Rae and into a final showdown with Ignatieff.
I realize that I’m neither Liberal nor Canadian…but after spending a year and a half promoting Sarah Palin, I’d like to think that I know a thing or two about candidate scouting. The answer to all of the Liberals’ problems is staring them right in the face, and it’s killing me that they don’t seem to realize it. Instead, they are marching like lemmings into a useless Rae vs. Ignatieff grudge match, thereby driving themselves further into oblivion. I may be a conservative American, but I feel like I’m watching a totally avoidable train wreck. So, out of sheer good will, I feel compelled to point them in the right direction. So, for whatever its worth, I tried to stop speeding train before it crashed.

If Ruby Dhalla is smart, she will seize the day and become the first person to successfully replicate the Obama movement. In doing so, she can bring the Liberals back from the brink and shatter almost every glass ceiling in the book by simultaneously becoming the first woman, first minority, and youngest person ever elected Prime Minister. Or, her party could turn to one of the two old guys who are currently seen as the natural heirs to the position…which sounds like the smarter option to you?

REACTIVATING TONIGHT!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:12:00 +0000

This blog has been dormant for a VERY long time while I have been busy promoting Sarah Palin, but with the presidential race over, I'm ready to jump back into international affairs. Stay tuned for a new column tonight on the person who I think could be "The Next Barack Obama"... you will be especially interested if you happen to be Canadian.

Are Terrorists Targeting Gordon Brown?

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:48:00 +0000

If you happen to live in a cave, then you need to know that four BIG news stories have taken place in Britain in the last week: Tony Blair handed the Prime Ministership to Gordon Brown on Wednesday, two terrorist-linked car bombs were found in London Friday, a terrorist drove a flaming car into the Glagow airport Saturday, and the Spice Girls got back together on Thursday.

Omitting the Spice Girls, I would make the case that all of those events are connected. I find it hard to believe that the Islamonazis behind the two bomb attempts did not deliberately launch their attacks in the first week of Brown's premiership. A similar strategy was used in the 4/11 bombings in Spain, which were timed to coincide with that country's general elections and resulted in victory for anti-American Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero - who then pulled all Spanish troops out of Iraq. Mr. Brown, who is less cozy with the US than his predecessor, did not need an election to take power, but the idea is the same: Bomb the country just as a new leftist leader takes power and spook him into pulling out of the Global War on Terror.

Maybe this is all a coincidence; but as this tactic has been used by Al Qaeda before, I would bet good money that it is not. The world should watch Gordon Brown very closely as he reacts to these attacks, because my guess is that the jihadis will base their future strategy on his actions. If they succeed in spooking the new prime minister, then the U.S. should be prepared for attempted attacks immediately before or after the 2008 election (before if the anti-war party is trailing in the polls).

So, congratulations Mr. Brown - the terrorists have just placed the future of Western civilization in your hands....Please don't screw it up.

Tags: UK, Britain, Gordon Brown, Terrorism, War on Terror

We Support You, Mates!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:18:00 +0000

Our US troops in Iraq deserve all the support they can get...but this video reminded me that we're not alone over there. "Unsung Heroes" is probably the best title for this video, especially those of us here in America. We need to remember ALL of the brave souls fighting for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether they hail from America, Britain, or any far corner of the globe.

Thats why I'm posting this tribute to one of America's greatest allies in the fight against terrot.....THE AUSSIES. To all of the Australian men and women serving in the Middle East and elsewhere - Keep up the good work, mates; we support you, and we will not forget your sacrifice.

Thoughts on Nicholas Sarkozy

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Tue, 08 May 2007 02:40:00 +0000

Well, if you read my post yesterday, you know that I am ecstatic about the election of "pro-American conservative" Nicholas Sarkozy as President of France - and most conservatives share my joy. But not much has been said about "Sarko" other than that he is a "pro-American conservative". So, who exactly is this guy, anyway?

For starters, let's make sure that you're pronouncing his name right (most of us Yanks aren't). If you watched French coverage of the election, you would have noted that his surname is pronounced SAR-kuh-zee, not sar-KOH-zee. His first name is pronounced NEE-koh-lah.

As far as policy is concerned, he's amazingly good in comparison to previous French presidents, especially on economics, where he wants to take a more "Anglo-American" approach. He is also openly friendly with the Bush administration. In fact, in his victory speech, he said, "I want to issue an appeal to our American friends, to tell them that they can count on our friendship...I want to tell them that France will always be by their side when they need it."

That said, he is not exactly George Bush with a French accent. For one, he wants a timetable for American withdrawal from Iraq. He also said in the above mentioned victory speech that, "the United States has a duty not to put obstacles in the way of the fight against global warming, but on the contrary to take the lead in this fight." He is a staunch advocate of the European Union (which some conservatives dislike), and he wants to form a "Mediterranean Union" for trade between Europe and Africa . Though, I doubt he wants to take that idea to the extreme to which the EU has progressed: "What was done for the union of Europe 60 years ago, we are going to do today for the union of the Mediterranean."

So, I say Nicholas Sarkozy is about the best thing to come out of France since french fries, and you can expect him to have a very warm relationship with Washington. Furthermore, his economic plans will do a world of good for the faltering French economy. Still, you should be prepared for him to say a few things that might not be what the US wants to hear - especially concerning global warming.

What is going to be very interesting is to see how Euro-American relation evolve in the next few months. As Sarkozy takes the reigns in France, Tony Blair is preparing to hand Britain off to his top lieutenant, Gordon Brown. Brown is to Blair's left and, while not exactly hostile, is not as friendly to his allies across the pond as his predecessor was. It is possible that Sarkozy's France could become America's #1 ally in Europe, while the Brown's UK becomes a less reliable partner. Now THAT would make for an interesting sea-change in international affairs!

To see all of the action surrounding Sarkozy's victory, check out Patrick Ruffini's "Sarkovideowall", a massive wall of TV clips showing everything from jubilant Sarko supporters, to news reports, to videos of the insane anti-Sarko mobs that have torched several hundred cars in the streets of France....Note: I'm beginning to note a world trend indicating that conservatives tend to be graceful losers, while Socialists tend to turn violent when they don't win elections.

Stay tuned here for more on the changing face of European politics.

Tags: Nicholas Sarkozy, France, French Elections, Gordon Brown, Europe, EU, Atlanticism, UMP, Conservatism, Euro-American Relations

Vive Sarkozy! Vive la France!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Sun, 06 May 2007 18:27:00 +0000

Pro-American Conservative

Nicholas Sarkozy:

President-Elect of France!

Sarkozy with Condoleeza Rice

In Memory: Boris Yeltsin

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:18:00 +0000

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin

First President of the Russian Federation

1931-2007

Say what you will about what happened to the Russian Economy under Yeltsin, I still say that the world owes him a debt of gratitude. He was one of the primary forces in bringing down the evil empire and starting Russia down the road to a future a freedom an prosperity. I know it is generally said that Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II won the cold war, but that is not entirely true. In a large measure, it was the Russian people who gave the free world victory over the forces of Communism - with Boris Yeltsin as their leader.

So, rest in peace, President Yeltsin, and thank you for all of the good you did...not just for Russia, but for the world.

Tags: Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Russia, Russian Federation, Freedom, Democracy, Communism

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:25:00 +0000

Hey everyone, I'm back from my trip to Canada and back in the blogosphere. This blog will continue to exist, especially considering the pivotal international elections which will be taking place in the next few months. France will head to the polls on April 22 to begin the process of electing a successor to Jacques Chirac, and the leading candidate at the moment is - get this - a rabidly pro-American conservative named Nicholas Sarkozy. It also appears that Canada's conservative minority government will crumble by the end of this month, triggering new elections. Things up North are very close, and it's anyone's guess whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be able to hold off newly-minted Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion in the coming conflagration. Oh, and Tony Blair plans on stepping down in May last time I checked.

So, I have decided that this blog definitely needs to remain up and running. That said, I may not be able to post as often, as I have taken up a new blogging project regarding the 2008 election here in the USA. Click here to link to my new blog. I know the idea presented by this new site may seem a little outlandish to some, but trust me...I have done my homework and believe in what I am saying.

It's good to be back, and I hope you are all strapped in for a wild ride in the world of international politics over the next few months.

Tags: Tony Blair , Nicholas Sarkozy , Stephen Harper , Stephane Dion , Elections , 2008

Switzerland Invades Liechtenstein!!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:46:00 +0000

Okay, I know I'm supposedly on hiatus, but this news from the AP is so hilarious that I just had to post it:

"What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein. According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers wandered just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back."

So, there you have it, folks - the world's most peaceful country has just invaded a helpless neighbor (which, by the way, it has promised to defend). Yeah, I know it was a harmless mistake, but it still VERY funny.

Oh... and if you look at the scale on the above map, you will note that marching one mile into Liechtenstein means that you not only crossed the border, but driven deep into the heart of the country!

On Hiatus...but I Garauntee I'll be back

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:34:00 +0000

If you haven't noticed, this blog has not been updated for a while. This is due to my grueling personal schedule this semester. I am spending a lot of time prepearing to represent my university at a Model United Nations conference in early march, and blogging unfortuately had to fall by the wayside.

I will be done with that conference on March 11th and have every intention of returning to the blogosphere in mid-March. However, I am currently exploring an idea for a new blog revolving around the USA's 2008 election - a new concept that has not been attempted in the blogosphere before. Check back in mid-March to see whether I will be staying with ConservaGlobe or shifting my focus (temporarily) to domestic issues.

ElephantMan

Note on "Person of the Week"

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:57:00 +0000

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that I take great pride in my "Person of the Week" columns. However, my life has been extremely hectic and I have missed the last three weeks, not to mention several weeks in December. So, I have decided to change "Person of the Week" to "Person of the Month" until further notice. "Person of the Month" will be released on the last day of every month, and January's column will be up within a few days. I hope to eventually be able to shift back to a weekly format, though I don't know when I will be able to do that. I am hoping that this decision actually helps me blog more, as I will be able to post on whatever I wish without thinking "I missed Person of the Week last week, and I need to get that entry done before I write anything else."

Thank you for reading, and I hope that you will continue to stop by.

Sincerely,
ElephantMan

Uzbek President Ignores End of Term

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 05:16:00 +0000

Islam Karimov

Uzbek dictator...I mean...president Islam Karimov's term expired today, and nothing happened. The day passed without incident, not surprising considering that no election had been held to choose a new president. Karimov looks to be exploiting and obscure provision in the Uzbek constitution which states that elections are to be held in December of the year that the president's term ends. Mr. Karimov's term technically ended in 2007, so no elections have to be held until this December - which means that Karimov gets another full year in power before standing for "re-election" (which he will probably do). I cant say I'm particularly surprised by this move, but I do find it somewhat amusing to watch the world's despots come up with more and more creative ways to legitimize their power grabs.

Click here to read an AP report on the subject.

Uzbekistan

Tags: Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan, Uzbek , Central Asia , Eurasia , Former USSR, Democracy

PERSONS OF THE WEEK: Dec. 31, 2006 - Jan. 6, 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 05:07:00 +0000

You don't always have to be a great political leader to rock the world. You don't have to be popular or widely respected either. You do, however, have to have determination, grit, and motivation. The football team from Boise State University exhibited all three of those qualities last Sunday, when they completed an undefeated season by beating the heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. None of the experts gave the Broncos a chance to win the game, even though they had a better record than the Sooners. After all, Boise State played in the not-so-heralded Western Athletic Conference (WAC), while Oklahoma played against "higher quality" opponents in the storied "Big Twelve" Conference - there really was no comparison. Luckily, such elitist psychobabble was soundly put to rest when the blue-collar Broncos shredded the blue-blooded Sooners.

I could spend all night talking about the ramifications the game had on the college football world, but this isn't really about football. Boise State didn't inspire the nation because of their proficiency with a leather ball - they inspired a nation because they proved that "little guys" really can conquer the world. We're always being told that only the rich and good-looking can succeed, but the truth is that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it. Boise State refused to believe the hype, and the rest of us should learn a lesson from that.

P.S. I hope that you will all join me in cheering on the Florida Gators in tomorrow's "national championship" game. If they beat undefeated Ohio State, Boise State will be the only unbeaten team in the country - and a lot of people will start using the phrase "the national champion Boise State Broncos".

Tags: Boise State, College Football, Broncos, Person of the Week, Football, Sports

Person of the Week - 2006 Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 04:14:00 +0000

As we ring in what will hopefully be a prosperous 2007, let us take a look back at some of the people who rocked the world in 2006. So, without futher ado, here are the names of those who earned this blog's Person of the Week award over the past year.

Click on any name to read their Person of the Week Column

Jan. 1-7: Ariel Sharon - Israeli Prime Minister
Jan. 8-14: Samuel Alito - Supreme Court Nominee
Jan. 15-21: Michelle Bachelet - Chilean President-Elect
Jan. 22-29: Stephen Harper - Canadian Prime Minister-Elect
Jan. 30 - Feb. 5: Anders Fogh Rasmussen - Danish Prime Minister
Feb 6-12: Jimmy Carter - Former U.S. President
Feb. 13-19: Zhang Dan - Chinese Figure Skater
Feb 20-26: Ismail Haniyeh -Palestinian Prime Minister-Elect
Feb. 27- March 4: Alexander Kozulin - Belorussian Presidential Candidate
March 5-11: Thaksin Shinawatra - Thai Prime Minister
March 12-18: Alexander Lukashenko - Belorussian Dictator
March 19-25: Alexander Milikevich and Alexander Kozulin - Belorussian Opposition Leaders
March 26-April 1: Jill Caroll - American Jounalist, Hostage in Iraq
April 2-8: Gyanendra - King of Nepal
April 9-15: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - President of Iran
April 16-22: Pope Benedict XVI
April 23-29: Adam Kidron - Music Producer (for his Spanish "Star Spangled Banner")
April 30-May 6: Patrick Kennedy - Rhode Island Congressman
May 7-13: Shimon Peres - Isreali Deputy Prime Minister
May 14-20: George W. Bush - U.S. President
May 21-27: Milo Đukanović - Prime Minister of Montenegro
May 28-June 3: Xanana Gusmao - East Timorese President
June 4-10: The tipster who gave up Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi
June 11-17: Karl Rove - U.S. Political Strategist
June 18-24: Evo Morales - Bolivian President
June 26-July 1: Ehud Olmert, Amir Petetz, and Gilad Shalit - Israeli Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and soldier kidnapped by Hamas.
July 2-8: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - Defeated Mexican Presidential Candidate
July 9-15: Hassan Nasrallah - Leader of Hezbollah
July 16-22: Newt Gingrich - Former Speaker of the U.S. House
July 23-29: Condoleeza Rice - U.S. Secretary of State
July 30-Aug. 5: Fidel Castro - Cuban Dictator
Aug. 6-12: Ned Lamont - U.S. Senate Candidate (D-CT)
Aug. 13-19: John Mark Carr - Pretender to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey
Aug. 20-26: Mike Brown - Astronomer, "Planet Hunter"
Aug. 27-Sep. 2 - Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - Defeated Mexican Presidential Candidate
Sep. 3-9: Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - British Prime Minister and Chancellor
Sep. 10-16: Pope Benedict XVI
Sep. 17-23: Sonthi Boonyaratglin - Thai Coup Leader
Sep. 24-30: Mark Foley - Disgraced Former U.S. Congressman (R-FL)
Oct. 1-7: Mike Gallagher - U.S. Radio Talk Show Host
Oct. 8-14: Kim Jong Il and Ban Ki-moon -North Korean Dictator and U.N. Secretary General-Elect
Oct. 22-28: Barack Obama - U.S. Senator (D-IL)
Oct. 29-Nov. 4: John Kerry - U.S. Senator (D-MA)
Nov. 5-11: Jim Webb - U.S. Senator-Elect (D-VA)
Nov. 12-18: Steny Hoyer - U.S. House Majority Leader-Elect
Nov. 19-25: Alexander Litvinenko - Poisoned Former KGB Agent
Nov. 26-Dec. 2: No Award
Dec. 3-10: No Award
Dec 10-16: No Award
Dec 17-23: Meles Zenawi - President of Ethiopia
Dec. 24-30: Gerald Ford - Former U.S. President

Persons of the Year: Mahhoud Ahmadinejad, Bashar al-Assad, and Hassan Nasrallah - Leaders of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah

Thank you all for taking this journey with me, and I hope that we will continue it together in the year to come.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 04:03:00 +0000

Sorry for being late with this weeks choice. This was probably the biggest no-brainer in the history of Person of the Week, and I am glad to have been able to give this award to this man at least once. I am not going to write a lengthy column eulogizing President Ford - I've already done that, and so has every other conservative blogger worth his salt. However, I would be dishonest if I chose anyone other than our late, great 38th President as ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

In Memoriam: President Gerald R. Ford

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:22:00 +0000

The Honorable Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

38th President of the United States

1913-2006

Since I was a young boy, I have loved studying the various men who have occupied the Oval Office. Among those men, one in particular stood out to me as a good man and a role model - his name was Gerald Ford. After the scandals of the Nixon administration, Ford reminded the nation of what a president should be. So, while I may be ideologically closer to his 1976 primary opponent Ronald Reagan, I will always think of Ford as a true statesman and a great man.

It is also worth noting that several of the men who now lead the Republican party owe much of their success to Gerald Ford. Donald Rumsfeld served as White House Chief of Staff, and later as Ford's Secretary of Defense. When Rumsfeld was promoted, his position as Chief of Staff was filled by a man named Dick Cheney. Ford also made George H.W. Bush his envoy to Communist China and then appointed him as Director of the C.I.A. Both of these appointments were key stepping stones on Bush's road to the White House. So, while Reagan is now considered the ideological patriarch of the modern Republican Party, it was Ford who selected the men who would lead the party into the 21st Century.

You can say what you want about Ford's policies or the fact that he was an unelected president, but it is hard to dispute that he was a great man. He led the country through a very trying time in its history, and he single-handedly restored the people's trust in the Presidency.

America has lost a great leader, and every patriotic American should be forever thankful for the life of Gerald Ford.

Tags: Gerald Ford, President Ford

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Dec. 17-23, 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 03:21:00 +0000

PERSON OF THE WEEK

Meles Zenawi

President of Ethiopia

World's Craziest Dictator Dead!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 07:40:00 +0000

Saparmurat "Turkmenbashi" Niyazov
1940-2006

In ranking the world's worst dictators, I placed Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan second only to Kim Jong Il. And while Kim may run the most oppressive regime on Earth, Niyazov was twice as self-obsessed and ten times as deranged. Some of his antics were almost comical: he renamed the months of the year, banned ballet and opera, and changed the Turkmen word for "bread" to his mother's name. However, many of his actions were sick, cruel, and not funny at all. He closed all hospitals and libraries outside of the capital, Ashgabat, saying that those who needed medical care could come to the capital and that ordinary Turkmen don't read books. While his people suffered, Niyazov filled his capital with a sickening number of lavish building projects. He even commissioned the construction of an ice palace in subtropical Ashgabat!

Luckily, the Turkmen people will no longer have to deal with this maniac. He died Thursday of heart failure. I hate to ever call anyone's death a good thing, but now there is some hope for Turkmenistan. The country will probably remain an Orwellian police state, but hopefully the new "Turkmenbashi" ("Leader of all ethnic Turkmen") will have just enough sense to at least allow his subjects to have some access to medical care.

If you are at all religious, please pray that the Turkmen people can finally become free of the terrible burden that this madman placed on them.

Tags: Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, Middle East, Human Rights

TIME fails to name a Person of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 02:44:00 +0000

Time magazine has flubbed up Person of the Year before, but I feel very comfortable in saying that this year's selection is their worst EVER. Sure, I've had issues with their choices for several years now, but at least they named actual people most of the time. This year's choice goes beyond that, and even eclipses some of the colossal cop-outs of the past. I used to think that time's worst-ever choice was in 1988, when "Endangered Earth" was named "Planet of The Year", but this is worse.

For 2006, Time's Person of the Year is..."YOU"!

That's right, everyone in the world is "Person of the Year". Now, I agree with their premise that user-generated content is defining the new information age (which is one reason I blog). However, I find the naming of the entire population as "Person of the Year" to be one of the dumbest things I have ever seen in the media. Saying that all humanity combined impacts the world more than any one person is like saying that circles are round - it's not news.

Now, other large populations have been named by time in the past, but none of them were totally all encompassing. Not everyone is an American Soldier (2004), a Middle American (1969), a U.S. Woman (1975), or Twenty-Five and Under (1966). However, no one can be excluded from the term "you", and making everyone Person of the Year is the same thing as saying that there is no Person of the Year - it's the ultimate cop-out.

So, as a member of the world population (an a generator of user-generated content), I refuse to accept the title of Time's Person of the Year and suggest that they pick one person who actually deserves the title.

PERSONS OF THE YEAR 2006!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 08:19:00 +0000

PERSONS OF THE YEAR 2006

HASSAN NASRALLAH

Leader of Hezbollah

BASHAR AL-ASSAD

President of Syria

MAHMOUD AHMADENIJAD

President of Iran

In the year 2006, the world saw the emergence of a new axis of evil. The triad of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea was never a true axis - each acted independently of the others. That is not the case with Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah. These three are not pursuing separate ends, they are working together toward an ominous and sinister goal. Together, they are making the Middle East more dangerous than it has ever been by threatening Israel, dismantling Lebanon's shaky democracy, and building the world's most destructive weapons. For that, the three leaders this axis of terror share the title of "Person of the Year."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is an obvious choice. His open desire to annihilate Israel has sent shockwaves through the international community, and his recent conference for Holocaust deniers caused almost every sane person to turn up his nose in disgust. However, it is his nuclear program that is really frightening, even to other Islamic states.

That said, Ahmadinejad has not actually attacked anyone yet. That job was done by his allies and fellow Shi'ite, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah wrecked havoc in two nations this year. First, they rained Katyusha rockets into Northern Israel, forcing the Israelis to invade Southern Lebanon in order to stop them. After Israel's withdrawal, Nasrallah declared victory and set about making trouble in his own country. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is a full fledged political party, with many members elected to Parliament and allies in the cabinet. In the last month, it launched massive protests aimed at ousting the elected government of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. An agreement was forged to form a new unity government, giving Islamofacists a major voice in the Lebanese government.

The final recipient of this award may come as a surprise to many of you. In fact, I was rather surprised when I found myself considering him. However, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has quietly made a huge impact on the Middle East in 2006. Unlike Ahmadinejad and Nasrallah, he is a Sunni Muslim; and he leads a Saddam-esque Baathist dictatorship, not an Islamo-Nazi theocracy. He is, however, a friend of both Hezbollah and Iran. He once wielded power over a puppet regime in Lebanon, and he wants that power back. Hence, most of Hezbollah's weapons (often of Iranian manufacture) are delivered via Syria.

So, the biggest story of 2006 went basically like this: Ahmadenijad made the guns, al-Assad then smuggled some of them into Lebanon, where Nasrallah and his people fired them at Israel. The actions of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah are so intertwined that they sometimes seem to operate as a single unit. They seem to share everything else, so it is only fitting that Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad share the title of Person of the Year.

Tags: Person of theYear, Ahmadenijad, Bashar al-Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Iran, Syria, Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, Hezbollah, Islamofascism, War on Terror, Terrorism, President Tom

Person of the Year is coming...stay tuned

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:43:00 +0000

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately, but you have to cut a college student some slack during finals. I'm still here, and Person of the Week will resume this coming Sunday.

Now the big news...it's that special time of year again, and no, I don't mean not the Holidays. I mean the time of year when I renew my grudge match against TIME magazine. As a former lover of TIME's "Person of the Year" award, I have been extremely dissapointed in thier choices since 2001. They have shirked their self-imposed duty to name the person who affected the world the most, "for good or evil" by selecting politically correct, sugarcoated choices. I think I can do better (which is more a comment on their journalism than a statement of self-importance), which is why I name a rival Person of the Year every December. Therefore, I will award the title of "Person of the Year 2006" before the end of this week - and yes, I've already decided who it is.

For their part, TIME has released a list of nominees at www.cnn.com/poy, and I have to say that it is a far better list than those of the last few years. Is my choice on that list? Well, yes and no...you'll have to wait an see what that means.

Ecuador Moves Left

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 07:41:00 +0000

Ecuador's presidential election has been won by Rafael Correa, a left wing economist and admirer of Hugo Chavez. During the campaign, he called President Bush "dimwitted" and threatened to reduce payments on Ecuador's foreign debt in order to pay for new social programs.

Two words: Oy vey.

Click here for an AP report on the election

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Nov. 19-25, 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 07:24:00 +0000

PERSON OF THE WEEK

Alexander Litvinenko

Poisoned Former KGB Agent

First Person of the Week to have died over the course of the week.

This is strange..

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 05:51:00 +0000

I could comment on the actual political ramifications of today's parliamentary elections in the Netherlands, and I will summarize them at the end of this post. However, I find one piece of the results far more intriguing than the others...

One of the biggest surprises in Holland tonight came not from the major parties, but from a small party that gained its first ever seats in parliament... Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals). Winning 2 out of the 150 seats, Partij voor de Dieren is the first animal rights party ever elected to any European parliament. I'm going to try not to make fun of this party, as their aims are obviously serious. Regardless of my opinion of their platform, the leaders of this party are to be congratulated for catapulting a fringe party into parliament. That said, I find myself scratching my head in amusement and wondering why so many Dutch people would vote for a party whose logo is a cartoonish dairy cow munching on a dandelion ....and is it just me, or does party leader Marianne Thieme bear a striking resemblance to Lindsay Lohan? (No offense intended to either Thieme or Lohan)

Click here to link to the official site of Partij voor de Dieren (English version)

Endnote: The results of the election left the centrist Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party, which formed the last government, holding the most seats (41). The social democratic Labour Party was second with 32 seats. The CDA and its former coalition partners do not have enough seats to form a majority, so the government may have to be formed by a coalition of both the CDA and Labour. Two smaller parties made major gains, with the Socialist Party jumping from 9 to 26 seats and the anti-immigration Party of Freedom surged upward from 1 to 9 seats. I am not pleased with the rise of the Socialists (I am never pleased with any gains by any Socialist), and I don't know enough about the Party of Freedom to comment. I am generally opposed to European far-right anti-immigration movements (which tend to be tinged with racism and anti-Semitism), but my reading so far indicates that that this new party has a classical liberal worldview and therefore may be a kinder, gentler movement in the mold of America's Tom Tancredo (who I am not a huge fan of, but I think adds a valid point of view to the immigration debate).

Tags: Partij voor de Dieren, Nederland, Netherlands, Holland, Animal Rights

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Nov. 12-18, 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan") — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 06:24:00 +0000

PERSON OF THE WEEK

Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

U.S. House Majority Leader-Elect

Column Coming Soon...

Honorable Mentions: Senator Trent Lott, Congolese President Joseph Kabila