Adam Brickley's ConservaGlobe

Ruby Dhalla: The Next Barack Obama?

2008-11-14T17:22:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-11-14T11:12:00.003-07:00

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?

2007-07-01T13:48:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-06-25T19:18:00.001-06:00

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

2007-05-07T20:40:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-05-06T12:27:00.000-06:00

Pro-American Conservative

Nicholas Sarkozy:

President-Elect of France!

Sarkozy with Condoleeza Rice

In Memory: Boris Yeltsin

2007-04-23T22:18:00.000-06:00

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

2007-03-13T23:25:00.000-06:00

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!!

2007-03-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

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"

2007-02-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-01-03T21:14:00.001-07:00

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

2007-01-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

PERSON OF THE WEEK

Meles Zenawi

President of Ethiopia

World's Craziest Dictator Dead!

2006-12-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-12-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

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

2006-12-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

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

2006-11-27T00:41:00.001-07:00

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

2006-11-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

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..

2006-11-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

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

2006-11-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

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

Trouble in Paradise: Riots Engulf Tonga

2006-11-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Tonga

The South Pacific islands of Tonga may be a may be a picturesque land of palm trees and sandy beaches, but just a few days ago it's streets are also filled with rioters, looters, burning cars, and broken glass. Riots erupted in the capital city of Nuku'alofa when the nation's parliament seemed ready to adjourn without passing promised democratic reforms. Luckily, the legislature got the message and changed the country's election laws so that the majority of parliament will be elected by the people in the 2008 election, but not before 80% of the buildings in Nuku'alofa's main business district were destroyed. Calm has prevailed, but Australia and New Zealand have dispatched several hundred military and police to keep the peace.

While I am glad that Tonga is becoming more democratic, I think that this is a perfect example of how NOT to petition your government. Letting politicians know how you feel is one thing, but these riots led to mass chaos and eight deaths. Looting businesses and torching automobiles is not a form of political protest - it's just common thuggery.

PLEASE LOOK AT THIS LINK: The site "Planet Tonga" has posted this photo gallery of downtown Nuku'alofa in flames, these pictures should help you understand why I think it that it is so important to let people know about the events in Tonga.

This BBC photo essay is also a good snapshot of the violence, and you can also click here to link to an AP news story on the subject.

Tags: Tonga, Nuku'alofa, Nukualofa, Tonga Riots, Democracy, News, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, South Pacific, Riots in Tonga

In Memoriam: Milton Friedman

2006-11-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Milton Friedman

1912-2006

I am not an economist, so I am nowhere near qualified to outline all of the contributions made by the great Milton Friedman, who died Wednesday at the age of 94. However, I can tell you that Friedman had an amazing impact on modern conservative and libertarian thought. His message was simple, the more freedom people have, the more prosperous they will be. His suggestion to the governments of the world was equally simple - quit messing around in the economy, you'll only screw it up! This may sound like common sense, but the Keynesian economic theory that dominated in the mid 20th century actually advocated active government intervention in the economy in the form of increases in government spending. Friedman's ideas revolutionized economics. They earned him the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976 and many people (until Wednesday) considered him the world's greatest living economist. Milton Friedman proved that freedom isn't just a pie-in-the-sky idea, but rather that it actually creates a stronger economy. Lovers of liberty everywhere are in his debt.

Tags: Milton Friedman, Economy, Economics, Monetarism, Freedom, Liberty, Libertarian, Classical Liberalism, Libertarians, Libertarianism

South Ossetia "Votes For Independence"

2006-11-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

South Ossetia

Yesterday, South Ossetia held a referendum, and almost 100% of voters said that they wanted their region to become an independent nation.

I know what you're thinking: "Where the heck is South Ossetia?!". Well it's a tiny region in the Northern part of the nation of Georgia (which is in the Caucus mountains between Turkey and Russia.) Back in 1991, South Ossetian separatists fought a bloody war against Georgia and set up an independent government which controls most of the region to this day. Those of us in political science call South Ossetia a "de facto state", meaning that it governs itself as an independent country but no other nation recognizes it. So, yesterday's vote was actually a mere affirmation of an independent nation which already exists.

Here's the catch, there is no way to tell how fair this vote was. Since nobody recognizes the South Ossetian government, nobody bothered to monitor the election. My guess is that, like almost every other election in the former USSR, this vote was riddled with corruption. However, I would venture to say that the majority of South Ossetians do not want to be part of Georgia, especially those members of the younger generation who have never really been a part of Georgia to begin with.

Georgia refuses to even consider the idea of an independent South Ossetia, and that's a shame, bcause only when Georgia is willing to negotiate will the will of the South Ossetian people ever be heard. This referendum was probably so corrupt that Iranian elections would look clean in comparison, and the separatist government is run by a self-appointed president who may or may not care about democracy. That said, the PEOPLE of South Ossetia have a right to be heard, and based on my reading I would speculate that most of them DO favor the separatist plan for independence (and an eventual merge with Russia).

Let's face it, the artificial borders drawn by the USSR are not working. The people of South Ossetia are not ethnic Georgians, they are ethnic Ossetians - and they would probably be a lot happier of they were independent or united with their brethren in the Russian Province of North Ossetia. I am no supporter of the South Ossetian government, but I AM a supporter of South Ossetia's right to secede if its people chose to do so. It's high time that the rest of the world stops paying attention to Ossetian politics and starts focusing on the desires of Ossetian people.

Note: South Ossetia is actually the smaller of two de facto states within Georgia. The other, Abkhazia, is much better organized and has functioned as a successful independent state for over a decade. I may be unsure about the Ossetian situation, but I think that it is an absolute joke that the world community will not acknowledge Abkhazia's independence.

Tags: South Ossetia, Ossetia, Georgia, Russia, Former Soviet Union, Eduard Kokoity, Caucus, Abkhazia, Eurasia, Democracy

Congratulations President Ford!

2006-11-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

The Honorable Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.

38th President of the United States

On Sunday, Gerald Ford became the longest-living president in the history of the United States, having attained the age of 93 years and 121 days. I have long been an admirer of President Ford, who did a great service to my country by restoring the honor of the Presidency after the Watergate scandal. In my mind, he should be numbered among the greatest leaders that this nation has had, and I wish him many more happy years. Here's to hoping that he becomes the first President to reach 100!

Tag: Gerald Ford

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Nov. 5-11, 2006

2006-11-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

If you didn't notice, America elected a new Congress last Tuesday, and the Democratic Party took control of both chambers. The change in the House of Representatives was not unexpected, but most pundits were predicting that the Republicans would hold the Senate. They didn't.

I spent some time dwelling on who most impacted the election, and it was not a leader of either party. Instead, it was the man who pulled off the most surprising Democratic victory of the night, Jim Webb of Virginia. A few months ago, few people would have thought that Webb could take down Virginia's powerful Republican senator, George Allen. However, thanks in part to a gaffe by Allen involving a word which nobody knows the meaning of, Webb was able to close the gap and make the race one of the closest in the country.

Actually, it turned out to be THE closest race in the country, and control of the Senate hinged on the results. After all of the votes were counted, Webb emerged with a razor-thin lead, handing control of the Senate to the Democrats by one vote. So for bieing the man who single handedly stole the Upper House from the GOP, Virginia Senator-Elect Jim Webb is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Election 2006, Senate, Jim Webb, George Allen, Virginia, Person of the Week

Democrats win election

2006-11-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

First off, sorry for being away from my computer. I have been busy with school and election work. Hopefully I will be able to blog more now that the election is over.

I have also neglected Person of the Week this week. For the record, the award goes to Senator John Kerry for his gaffe regarding the troops (whatever he actually meant to say , he caused a strit by saying it).

As for the election, I am a little disappointed but not depressed. The results of the election last night went pretty much as expected. I had personally expected for Republicans to hold Senate seats in Missouri and Virginia, but I knew that both of those races were going to be close. I was expecting to lose the House, though I was slightly surprised by the number of seats that they took.

I have thought for a long time , that Republicans needed to lose this election for their own good. Don't get me wrong, I wanted the GOP to win last night, but that's just because I put the good of my country before the good of my party (I value my civil rights and the Constitution, so voting Democrat is not an option for me). The GOP had developed a sense of entitlement to power, and hence they were not like the conservatives they claimed to be (see: spending, immigration, ethics). Now the voters have given them a spanking and a time-out, and they need to do some soul-searching (which I believe will lead them back to their core conservative values).

I would rather the Republicans lose this year than in 2008. As I see it, we have a better chance of winning that election now that we have been humbled by the voters. Furthermore, America will get to see the Democratic Party's true colors over the next two years, and I don't think they'll like what they see.

I AM NOT JUST SAYING THIS TO CHEER READERS UP. The views that you just read were my opinions long before last night. I truly believe the GOP will become stronger due to this election, and I truly believe that it gives us a better chance of retaining the Presidency in two years.

On that note, I am expecting to have to start my coverage of the 2008 election very soon, and I hope that all of you will continue reading...Because if you thought this election was wild, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

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

2006-10-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

PERSON OF THE WEEK:

BARACK OBAMA

U.S. SENATOR FROM ILLONOIS

COLUMN COMING SOON

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

2006-10-15T22:43:00.000-06:00

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.

Tags: Kim Jong Il, Ban Ki-Moon, Korea, North Korea, South Korea, WMD, United Nations, UN, Person of the Week, Axis of Evil

2006 Nobel Peace Prize: Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank

2006-10-13T16:02:00.000-06:00

Muhammad Yunus

(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!

Tags: Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh, Grameen Bank, Nobel Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, Microfinance, Microcredit, News, Good News

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

2006-10-10T23:56:00.000-06:00

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.

Tags: Mike Gallagher, Westboro Baptist Church, Amish School Shooting, Talk Radio, Person of the Week

South Korean to Become U.N. Secretary General

2006-10-02T23:52:00.000-06:00

Ban Ki-moon

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.

Tags: United Nations, UN, U.N., Secretary General, UN Secretary General, United Nations Secretary General, South Korea, Ban Ki-moon

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

2006-10-02T23:05:00.000-06:00

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.

Tags: Mark Foley, Foley, Congress, Midterm Elections, Politics, Person of the Week

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

2006-09-24T23:24:00.000-06:00

There were a lot of surprises this week, most of them at the U.N. General Assembly. President Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, and Hugo Chavez all gave very memorable speeches, but none of them earned the Person of the Week award. Instead, it goes to a Thai general who I had never heard of until this Monday. Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin is the Commander in Chief of the Thai Army, and on Monday he staged a coup while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York to give a speech to... you guessed it... the United Nations General Assembly.

Thaksin was involved in a massive corruption scandal, so many Thais were happy to see him bumped off. Grateful citizens gave flowers to Sonthi's troops, but the rest of the world (this blogger included) remains skeptical. Sonthi has pledged to appoint a new Prime Minister within two weeks and return democracy to Thailand, but he has also banned all political party meetings, censored the media, and cancelled next month's national election.

As always, I think that any interference in democracy is a bad thing; and while the Thaksin Government was corrupt, I don't think that installing an oppressive military dictatorship is going to make Thailand a better place. Unfortunately, Thailand is also right next to Burma (Myanmar), home of the world's most repressive military regime, so I worry greatly about how much the mew Thai regime will try to emulate their neighbors (Sonthi visited Burma on Sep. 11).

So, for bringing Thai democracy to a screeching halt, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand, Thailand Coup, Thai Coup, Siam, Democracy, Person of the Week

Sweden Votes Out Socialists!

2006-09-18T01:38:00.000-06:00

I am bouncing off the walls at hearing this great news. Sweden, which Socialists always try to tell me is an example of why their ideology works better than Capitalism, has voted the governing Social Democratic Party out of government and installed a center-right coalition led by the Moderate Party. The Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Goran Persson, have governed the country for 12 consecutive years, but on Sunday they suffered their worst electoral defeat since 1914.

The new governing coalition has said that they will not dismantle Sweden massive welfare state or lower the country's ultra-high taxes, but they do plan on promoting employment over government handouts.

Congratulations to Sweden's new center-right Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt!

Best wishes to the Moderate, Christian Democrat, Center, and Liberal Parties as they take the reigns of government!

Tags: Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Sep. 10-16, 2006

2006-09-18T00:28:00.000-06:00

Isn't it amazing how much fuss can be made over one little quote. Honestly, the Pope really didn't really do all that much this week; he didn't say anything particularly grandiose, nor he make any big announcements about Catholic doctrine. Yet, a quote from an obscure 14th century Byzantine emperor buried in one of his speeches somehow caught the attention of the entire Islamic world. I will admit to not having read the whole speech, but I'm starting to get the feeling that his remarks are being blown completely out of proportion. Still, churches in the Middle East are being firebombed, effigies of Benedict are being burned, and a nun in Somalia has been killed - all because the pope had the gall to simply QUOTE somebody who didn't like Islam. Heck, the Vatican has even issued apologized for hurting Muslims' feelings (although they rightly stopped short of disavowing the pope's speech - which I believe had to do with the need for more inter-religious dialogue or something like that), but nobody seems willing to accept the penance.

So, for making the comment that started all of the hoopla, Pope Benedict XVI is ConservaGlobe's person of the week.

I'll end with this: if the Islamic community really wants to show that their religion is not as violent as some people think, then they should accept the pope's apology and start cracking down on the barbarians who are burning churches and killing nuns.

Tags: Pope Benedict, Pope Benedict XVI, Benedict XVI, Catholic Church, Catholicism, Roman Catholic, B16, Vatican, Pope, Religion, Islam, Person of the Week

PERSON OF THE WEEK - September 3-9, 2006

2006-09-12T00:22:00.000-06:00

PERSONS OF THE WEEK

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR

AND

BRITISH CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER GORDON BROWN

COLUMN COMING SOON.

In Memory of Sean Hanley

2006-09-11T18:17:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, I found a wonderful project called "2,996". D. Challenger Roe conceived the idea of getting one blogger to honor each of the 2,996 victims of September 11th, and I glady blogger #947 (coincidentally, a grand total of 3,013 blogs signed up). Victims were randomly assigned to blogs, and I was assigned to write a memorial to a man who I have come to think of as a true American hero...

Sean Hanley

Firefighter, Ladder 20

Died September 11th, 2001

Aged 35

I found that a reasonable amount of online text has been written about Mr. Hanley by people who knew and loved him - and anything that I could write would not be half as relevant as what I have already read. So, istead of running the risk of inserting my own opinion by writing my own obituary, I am going to provide links to the several that have already been posted.

PLEASE read these profiles. From my reading, Sean Hanley was a heck of a guy; America lost a great citizen and a great hero when he passed on.

I will say one thing - Sean Hanley had just gotten OFF WORK when he heard that the World Trade Center had been hit. He didn't have to rush to the scene, but he did anyway.

Sean Hanley homepage at Bravest Memorial

Legacy.com article on Sean Hanley

SI Live Article on Sean Hanley

REST IN PEACE

Aussie Radical Rips Croc Hunter

2006-09-06T16:18:00.000-06:00

I didn't plan on devoting a lot of time to the death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, but this bit of news is so nauseating that I just had to mention it.

While the rest of Australia was mourning a national hero, radical feminist Germaine Greer decided to that the best thing to do would be to hurl insults at Irwin. Yesterday, she issued the following grotesque tirade: "The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin, but probably not before a whole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small has learned to shout in the ears of animals with hearing ten times more acute than theirs, determined to become millionaire animal-loving zoo owners in their turn." That wasn't all she said, but I think you get the point.

When she was asked whether she was out of touch with the rest of Australia, Greer said "I hope I'm out of touch with what idiots are thinking."

Luckily, several prominent Aussie leaders were willing to to respond to Greer's comments. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said, "That is just garbage and it is insensitive, crazy and untrue."

However, my favorite quote came from Labor Party foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd: "I think Germaine Greer should just stick a sock in it." He went on, "You have got a grieving mother, you have got a couple of grieving young kids and a grieving nation and what do you get from Germaine Greer? You get a bucket load of politically correct pap - it's just nonsense."

I might point out the both Premier Beattie and Mr. Rudd are members of the Labor Party, which represents the left wing of Australian politics. Kudos to them for calling a spade a spade; I only wish leftists here in America were so honest.

Tags: Steve Irwin, Croc Hunter, Crocodile Hunter, Australia, Peter Beattie, Kevin Rudd, Germaine Greer

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Aug. 27 - Sep. 3, 2006

2006-09-04T21:57:00.000-06:00

Socialist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, popularly known as AMLO, lost Mexico's presidential election. Yet, he is now receiving his second Person of the Week award while the winner, conservative Felipe Calderon, has yet to earn one. I'd honestly love to give this award to Calderon, but AMLO just won't go away!

Lopez Obrador won his first Person of the Week when he threatened not to recognize Calderon's victory and thereby established himself as a danger to Mexico's fragile democracy. He wins this week for making good on that threat. As expected, AMLO refused to recognize the Mexican Electoral Tribunal's ruling that Calderon was President elect, and he is actively taking steps to cripple the Mexican government. Last week, his supporters in the Congress prevented outgoing President Vicente Fox from delivering his final state-of-the-nation address by storming the stage moments before Fox was to begin speaking. Those same legislators are now reportedly planning to use the same method to block Calderon from being sworn into office on December first.

Meanwhile, AMLO himself has announced that he will declare himself President of Mexico and form a parallel government that will attempt to rule the nation from the streets. In addition, Obrador has proposed scrapping the Mexican Constitution for a new one that will cause a "radical transformation" in the country.

So, for proving that he is serious about taking power at any cost, with or without the consent of the Mexican people, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: AMLO, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Felipe Calderon, Vicente Fox, PRD, Mexico, News, Politics, World Politics, World News, Current Affairs, Current Events, Person of the Week

In Memoriam: Steve Irwin

2006-09-04T00:09:00.000-06:00

Stephen Robert Irwin

"The Crocodile Hunter"

1962 -2006

Rest In Peace

Tags: Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Aug. 20-26, 2006

2006-09-02T21:39:00.000-06:00

Okay, the funny thing is that I made the above graphic last Saturday, but I got so busy that I's just now posting it a week later. Anyway, last week's biggest news story was out of this world - literally. After much debate, the International Astronomical Union revoked Pluto's status as a planet. Whether the icy world qualified as a planet had been debated for years, but scientists never put forth an official ruling on the subject. Many bodies similar to Pluto have been discovered in recent years, causing the debate on what makes a planet to heat up, but the scientific community ducked the issue by noting that none of the newly discovered objects were nearly as large as Pluto, and hence were too tiny to merit planet status...That was before Mike Brown made his biggest discovery.

Brown has made a career out of searching for icy worlds at the edge of the solar system. His discovery of a small planetoid called Quaoar got people talking about defining the term planet, but Quaoar was too small to merit serious attention. Then he found Sedna, which not only was larger than Quaoar, but was red in color (unlike all of the other chunks of space ice that have been found). Yet, Sedna was still smaller than Pluto, so there was no serious debate. Then he found 2003 UB313 (nicknamed Xena), which was bigger than Pluto, and the ice finally hit the fan. Was this strange new world the 10th planet? If not, could we justify the inclusion of it's smaller cousin Pluto? The world waited with baited breath for a ruling, and it finally came last week: 2003 UB313 is not a planet, and neither is Pluto. Without Mike Brown, the debate on Pluto could have raged for decades with out a solution. So, by forcing astronomers to finally bite the bullet and define the word "planet", he is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Note: The author of this blog disagrees wholeheartedly with the decision on Pluto. I realize that it might confuse people if the number of planets has to continually be revised upward, but I do not see that as a valid reason to create an overly stringent definition of a planet (the final definition says that a planet cannot has to clear its orbit, so Pluto is disqualified on a technicality because it crosses Neptune's orbit). In my opinion, the solar system has at least eleven planets - the traditional nine plus 2003 UB313 and Sedna. I count 2003 UB313 because of it's size and Sedna because it red color indicates that may not made of the same material as any other ice cube that we have found. I'm also open to adding Quaoar, the mega-asteroid Ceres, and another BIG block of ice found by Brown - tentatively nicknamed "Santa". Just my thoughts.

Tags: Pluto, Astronomy, 2003 UB313, Xena, Planet, Mike Brown, Person of the Week, Kuiper Belt, Sedna

"Survivor" Plays the Race Card

2006-08-25T20:31:00.000-06:00

I am addicted to "Survivor". I really couldn't care less about the girls in bathing suits and I think that it is tacky that there are always one or two professional models on the show (if they want eye candy, fine, but there are plenty of attractive people in other professions), I watch because I think it is a great sociological experiment. It puts contestants under an amazing amount of mental and physical stress, which means that their true colors always show. At its core, "Survivor" is a show about the true nature of what it means to be human. Of course, there is a new plot twist every season to help ratings, create more stress on players, and explore a new portion of the human psyche. This next season (the 13th) is going to be about ethno-cultural relations (I hate the word "race", we're all human), and the tribes are divided by ethnic group.

Now, I think this is a wonderful social experiment and will create some of the most interesting inter-personal dynamics in Survivor history, but there are those who think that this is an exercise in racism/segregation. Because of such people, Survivor 13 has become the subject of a massive political debate (which is why I'm covering it).

Of course, I think that these accusations are a load of hooey, so I feel like deconstructing them.

Accusation #1: "This is just a ploy to get ratings!"
Of course it's about ratings, television is a capitalist enterprise! Every show on television has one purpose, to draw viewers to its network, and is therefore is a ploy to generate ratings. In order to get viewers, networks have to produce edgy content that people will watch, so the motivation of ratings is actually what cases networks to produce good television! The motivation for producing a program has nothing to do with the program's quality or acceptability.

Accusation #2: "'Survivor' is being racist!"
No, it's not. In an interview with "The Early Show", host Jeff Probst hit the nail on the head when he said that the show is about integration, not segregation. Trust me, the four tribes will have to be scrambled and/or merged very early on (I've watched all 12 seasons, I know how the game works), and the point of the game will be to see which players can successfully overcome cultural differences and form alliances that will help them get farther in the game. Any players who exhibit racist tendencies will be voted off in short order, humiliating them in front millions of viewers. In short, the point of this show is to ridicule racism, not promote it.

Accusation #3: "This twist encourages viewers to divide along racial lines!"
Not really. The people who latch on to their own ethnic tribe are probably going to be the ones who had issues with other cultures long before anyone ever heard of Survivor. I am personally a Caucasian, but I have no intention of rooting for the white tribe. Actually, after combing through contestant biographies on the Survivor website, my early favorite is nail salon manager Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui, a Vietnamese-American. Furthermore, I will probably root for the Asian tribe in general because an Asian has never won Survivor. People will generally root for a contestant whose personality they find appealing, and I don't think that ethnicity will be that big of a factor.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I plan on spending Thursday evenings parked in front of my TV - because Survivor is going to be great this year.

Tags: Survivor, CBS, TV, Television, Entertainment, Racism, Race Relations

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Aug. 13-19, 2006

2006-08-23T10:07:00.000-06:00

Sorry for being late agian this week, but events in the real world have limited my time in cyberspace.

I don't have time to write a big column right now, and I don' t want to write about this guy anyway because he makes me sick. However, he did make the most news this week.

Som, whether he is really a murderer or just perpetrating the biggest hoax of the 21st century, ConservaGlobe's Person of the week is...

JOHN MARK KARR,
CONFESSED KILLER OF JONBENET RAMSEY.

PERSON OF THE WEEK - Aug. 6-12, 2006

2006-08-15T16:26:00.000-06:00

Joe Lieberman has served the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate for years. He has been one of their most influential Senators, and he was almost universally respected by both political parties. He was the party's nominee for Vice-President in 2000, and has drawn words of praise from everyone from Al Gore to Sean Hannity. He has fallen out of favor with his own party in recent years, but why? Joe certainly hasn't changed. He's still socially liberal, he's still strong on defense, and he still thinks that removing Saddam Hussein from power was a good idea - just like he had for over a decade before the current war in Iraq began. Joe didn't change, but the party did.

It used to be okay for Democrats to support forcibly removing genocidal maniacs like Saddam Hussien (even John Kerry liked the idea), but then George Bush decided to actually do it. Since then, anti-war radicals (led by far left millionaires and extremist bloggers) have hijacked the Democratic Party. Somehow, these groups managed to replace blue-collar Americans as the Democrats' base, and they decided that there is no room in their new anti-war party for good old Joe.

Enter Ned Lamont: anti-war millionaire. He agreed with Joe on a lot of things, but not on the war - and the war was all that mattered to him. He decided that Joe had to go and ran against him for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate from Connecticut. Many elected officials stood by their old friend Joe, at least in the primaries, but the bloggers vilified him and threw their support behind Lamont. In addition, Lamont plowed several of his own millions into his campaign. In the end, he managed to squeak by Lieberman in last Tuesday's primary election. Joe decided to run in the general election, but all of his old friends (being good Democrats) abandoned him.

The moral of this story is that the Democratic party doesn't care about the vast majority of issues at the moment. Sure, they have positions on education and health care and such, but at their core they are totally fixated on Iraq. In fact, they are so obsessed with it that they were even willing to tar and feather their old friend Joe.

So, for making it crystal clear that there is no room in the Democratic Party for Joe Lieberman or anyone else who supports the war, Ned Lamont is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Tags: Joe Lieberman, Ned Lamont, Democrats, Elections, Primaries, Connecticut Primary, Connecticut, Senate, Left-Wing, Radical Left, Person of the Week, News, Current Events, Anti-War, War, Iraq, Liberals

I Love Ned Lamont!

2006-08-09T17:57:00.000-06:00

No, you don't have to worry about this rock-solid conservative Republican jumping ship - I have no desire to see Mr. Lamont enter the United States Senate. However, I am very pleased with the results of last night's Democratic primary in Connecticut. Thanks to Lamont's victory over Joe Lieberman (my favorite Democrat), it is now crystal clear that the Democratic Party has been taken over by the radical left and that there is no room for those who do not toe the increasingly extremist party line. Joe Lieberman is a class act and a tremendous asset to the Democratic Party, yet he was tarred and feathered because he had the chutzpah to vote against the party line on one issue (Iraq). I disagree with Joe Lieberman on a vast number of issues, but I admire the fact that he is willing to stand up for everything he believes in, even if it's unpopular.

Hopefully, the Democrats continue to ostracize Joe Lieberman, because it will show just how far their obsessive hatred of Bush and his Iraq policy has caused them to fall.
I wish Joe Lieberman the very best in his quest for re-election and look forward to having him around for another four years. Whether I agree with him or not, it's nice to know that there are still a few independent thinkers in Washington who do what they think is right, even if it costs them personally.

Tags: Joe Lieberman, Ned Lamont, Democrats, Elections, Primaries, Connecticut Primary, Connecticut, Senate, Left-Wing, Radical Left

PERSON OF THE WEEK - July 30-Aug 5, 2006

2006-08-06T20:53:00.000-06:00

Fidel Castro's recent suregery sent shockwaves through the world political scene. Is it possible that the world's longest reigning dictator may be on death's doorstep?

Whether or not Fidel Castro is near death, his illness has made Cubans (and the rest of the world) ponder what life will be like without him. Will his brother be as effective, or will Castro's death be the beginning of the end for Cuban Communism?

So, regardless of how sick he really is, Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro is ConservaGlobes's Person of the Week.

Photo Credit: Fotografía tomada por Ricardo Stuckert/ABr. el 26/09/2003 para la Agência Brasil (The Agência Brasil makes images and photos available free of charge. To comply with existing law, we kindly request our users to list the credits as in the example: photographer's name/ABr.): http://img.radiobras.gov.br/

PERSON OF THE WEEK - July 23-29, 2006

2006-07-29T15:34:00.000-06:00

I have been almost totally deprived of news this past week. I was at a "Liberty and Current Issues" seminar, and I ate, slept, and breathed Libertarian political theory from about 9:00 AM until midnight every day (no the seminar didn't run until midnight, but the evening socials did). That said, the one thing I did hear about was Condoleeza Rice's trip to the Middle East - so it must have been important. Having since caught up on the news, Rice does seem to be the week's biggest newsmaker, and I give her a lot of kudos for dropping everything and heading to over there to try to help stabilize the situation (though I personally think that the only real way to stabilize things is to wipe out Hezbollah).

So, for her efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Condoleeza Rice, Condi Rice, Middle East, Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Person of the Week

PERSON OF THE WEEK - July 16-22, 2006

2006-07-22T07:59:00.000-06:00

This week's award goes to the irst man to refer to the situtation in the Middle East as what it really is, World War III.

ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week is...
NEWT GINGRICH!

Kudos to Newt for his brutal honesty.

Two Week Vacation

2006-07-20T23:06:00.000-06:00

I will be spending the next two weeks in Washington, DC for a seminar and a conference, so this site may not be updated terribly often. I will make my best effort to get Person of the Week columns written, but I can't garauntee much more thant that. If I have time and access to the internet, I may be able to post a few entries (but don't hold your breath). If possible, I will try to blog the Young America's Foundation's National Conservative Students Conference, which will include quite a few big name speakers (I'm really looking forward to hearing Newt Gingrich, Michelle Malkin, and others.)

If you really want to read my work, I have been participating in a debate on left-wing blog. The subject matter is whether or not Israel is a racist apartied state (obviously, I believe that is isn't). You may not want to read this thread if you are sensitive to profanity (and no, I'm not the one using it.) Click here to view.

PERSON OF THE WEEK - July 9-15, 2006

2006-07-16T22:03:00.000-06:00

Conflict between Israel and Islamist terrorists dominated the news yet again this week, but this time with a new villain. Forget Khaled Mashal of Hamas and his puny little insurgency; center stage now belongs to the better armed, better funded, and better organized Hezbollah. Instead of sporadic rocket fire from Gaza, Israel now has to contend with a constant rain of Katyusha rockets from Lebanon, where Hezbollah claims to have amassed 10,000 of the devices. The man behind this massive bombardment is not a scraggly guerilla like Yasser Arafat or a well groomed politician like Mashal and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Those images have been replaced by the black turban and robes of a Shi'ite cleric named Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.

Nasrallah was not as well-known as other terrorist leaders because of Hezbollah's relatively quiet ways in recent years, but this week he made sure that everyone remembered that Hezbollah, not Hamas, was the number one anti-Israel terrorist organization. His forces kidnapped two Israeli soldiers (part of me wonders if that was just to show up Hamas, which only took one), killed eight more, and began pelting Northern Israel with rockets. By doing so, he triggered a massive conflict which has killed a number of Lebanese civilians.

In my opinion, Nasrallah is personally responsible for every death in this conflict, whether Israeli or Lebanese. He carried out an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation, which now is asserting is right (and responsibility) to defend itself. Had he not carried out these despicable attacks, innocent citizens of Lebanon would not be at risk.

So, for killing innocent Israelis in cold blood and doing massive harm to his own country by inviting Israel to attack, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Israel, Lebanon, Terrorism, War, Middle East, Hezbollah, Hamas, Katyusha,Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Person of the Week, Palestinians, News, Politics, Current Affairs, Palestine

The Terrorist Dictionary

2006-07-13T22:41:00.000-06:00

There are a few confusing (and similar sounding) terms that are being mentioned in many news stories about the conflict in the Israel and Lebanon, so I thought it would be useful to explain the differences between Hamas and Hezbollah and also between a Qassam rocket and a Katyusha rocket.

Hamas and Hezbollah are VERY different organizations: Hamas is based in the Palestinian Territories (mainly the Gaza Strip) and it is composed of Sunni Muslims. Hezbollah is a Shi'ite organization based in Lebanon and Syria.

A Qassam rocket is a homemade device with a very short range and absolutely no accuracy, and it is the favorite weapon of Hamas. Katyusha rockets, preferred by Hezbollah, are more sophisticated devices built for conventional militaries. The original Katyusha was built by the USSR ("Katyusha" is an old Russian folk song), but the term is now applied to many similar rockets built in other countries. I think Hezbollah's are Iranian in origin. The Katyusha is a short range rocket and not very accurate by conventional military standards, but it is FAR superior to the primitive Qassam in both range and accuracy.

So, hopefully a few of you will understand the conflict better now that I have posted this dictionary of destruction. Good luck to Israel in their quest to eliminate all of the four terms defined in this post.

ROCK ON, ISRAEL!

Tags: Israel, Lebanon, Terrorism, War, Middle East, Hezbollah Hamas, Katyusha, Qassam

Rock On, Israel! (Part 2)

2006-07-13T21:49:00.000-06:00

Israel has expanded it's anti-terror operations into Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. As I did when they invaded Gaza, I commend Israel for showing no restraint in eliminating the deranged scumbags who are hellbent on killing innocent Israelis. That said, I do recognize that some people in Lebanon may be suffering right now, some of the pictures I have seen make me want to vomit. When I see children in pain, I want to spit in the faces of those who caused their misery - THAT IS ONE REASON WHY I SUPPORT ISRAEL'S MILITARY CAMPAIGN!

Now, what I have just said probably makes no sense to you if you are on the left (maybe even if you're on the right). I know what you're thinking - Isn't the suffering the result of Israel's military campaign? No, it isn't! If Hezbollah wasn't firing Katyusha rockets at innocent Israeli civilians, Israel would not be responding. The terrorists started this, Israel is merely finishing it. Furthermore, part of the reason that Lebanese civilians are being injured is that Hezbollah is purposefully using them as human shields! It is a common tactic of terrorists to purposefully operate in densely populated areas so that any attempt to fight them will result in massive civilian casualties (allowing them to claim mass murder when Israel responds to their terrorism). The more people die, the more Hezbollah can use their death as a rallying cry - so they are trying to make sure that as many people as possible are killed.

Hezbollah not only instigated this skirmish by firing at civilians, but it is attempting to maximize the number of innocent Lebanese civilians killed! Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that Hezbollah, not Israel, is to be held responsible for any harm that comes to Lebanese civilians. Israel is merely defending itself, and it is liberating the people of Lebanon from their bloodthirsty oppressors in the process.

So, I will reiterate what I said at the beginning of the Gaza Operation:

ROCK ON, ISRAEL!

Tags: Israel, Lebanon, Terrorism, War, Middle East, Hezbollah

Thoughts On The Mumbai Bombings

2006-07-12T00:06:00.000-06:00

I really don't have much to say about yesterday's massive train bombings in Mumbai (Bombay), India. It's probably just as well; the main focus should be on the families who have lost loved ones, not online opinionists like myself.

One thing I did want to do was to put this attack into perspective. As of now, the death toll is 190 and climbing. That is more than triple the toll of last year's London Bombings (52), and only two short of the 192 lives claimed by the 2004 Madrid Bombings. In other words, if three more bodies are counted, this will become the deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11.

This is a despicable act of violence, and those who perpetrated it should be hunted down like the animals they are. No one has yet claimed responsibility, proving that they are not only subhuman butchers, but cowards as well.

My deepest condolences to all those who have suffered loss today.

Tags: Mumbai, Bombay, India, India Bombings, Mumbai Bombings, Bombay Bombings, Terrorism, al-Qaeda, Kashmir, South Asia, Asia

PERSON OF THE WEEK - July 2-8, 2006

2006-07-10T00:17:00.000-06:00

Normally, I give this award to people who WIN elections. However, the theatrics of the runner up in Mexico's presidential election were enough overshadow the victory of conservative Felipe Calderon. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (popularly known as AMLO) was bested by Calderon in two separate vote counts, but he still refuses to concede defeat. Instead, the socialist mayor of Mexico City is demanding yet another recount, earning the new nickname "ObraGore" in the process. However, I disagree with that characterization - AMLO is ten times worse than Al Gore ever was. For one, Al Gore never led massive street protests in Florida. AMLO , on the other hand, has thousands of his people protesting in Mexico city (click here for picture). Furthermore, Gore never asserted that the people counting votes were actively conspiring with the Bush campaign to steal the election. In contrast, AMLO is alleging massive fraud and arguing that he lost because of a conspiracy (rather than a confusing ballot design).

In my opinion, the real difference between AMLO and Gore is that Gore accepted the decision of the courts and conceded - I don't think that AMLO will. While a formal protest has been filed with Mexico's electoral tribunal, I don't think that AMLO will recognize a ruling in favor of Calderon. You see, he is already alleging that the government is trying to keep him from taking power, so it wouldn't much of a stretch for him to just say that the courts are part of the conspiracy. Al Gore didn't try to take power by force after he lost, but I fear that AMLO will.

So, for pursuing a course of action that could shatter Mexico's fragile democracy, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Mexico, Mexico Election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Felipe Calderon, Calderon, AMLO, Politica, PAN, Elecciones2006, prd, Person of the Week

...and I thought traitors in the US were bad!

2006-07-09T17:15:00.000-06:00

Now Israel has it's very own version of John Murtha...Only worse. Murtha has said a lot of bad things about US troops, but he has never actually supported the kidnapping of US soldiers. However an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) has actually come out in support of the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas militants. MK (Member of Knesset) Wasil Taha of the Balad Party said the following in a recent interview with Israel Radio: "the murder and massive bombardment of Gaza and the continued killings have left Palestinians with two options: Either to harm innocent civilians or confront the army, and they've picked the more difficult choice of confronting Israel Defense Forces, capturing [Corporal Gilad] Shalit in the conflict." Taha was then asked whether or not the kidnapping of Shalit was legitimate, to which he responded, "the occupation is not legitimate". Furthermore, Taha objects to the use of the word "kidnapping" to describe the abduction, saying that a more fitting word would be "captured". His defense of this statement was "A kidnapping is something terrorist organizations and as such do". (Note: People who blow up busses and fire Qassam rockets at innocent civilians are TERRORISTS!)

Now, Mr. Taha is entitled to his opinion (sick and demented as it may be). However, he is an Israeli citizen, and therefore his comments in support of his country's enemies are, by definition, traitorous. Furthermore, I am sure that Taha had to take some sort of oath to support Israel when he entered the Knesset (I would appreciate info from any one familiar with the process of swearing in MKs), and my guess is that his current stance places him in violation of that oath. Therefore, he should be thrown out of the Knesset immediately (kudos to MK Efi Eitam, who is asking Israel's Attorney General to investigate Mr. Taha).

In conclusion: Mr. Taha is a traitor to his country. If he has more loyalty to the Palestinians than to Israel, then he should relinquish his Israeli citizenship and emigrate to the Palestinian Territories, and I hope he does.

Tags: Israel, Palestine, Middle East, Terrorism, Politics, Treason, Wasil Taha, Taha, Balad, Knesset

Felipe Calderon, Presidente de Mexico!

2006-07-06T08:31:00.000-06:00

With 99.54% of the official count completed, conservative Felipe Calderon leads socialist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the race to become Mexico's next president. Calderon's margin of victory is extremely thin (0.45%), but after two counts I think it is safe to say that his victory is beyond doubt. However, Lopez Obrador remains convinced that he, not Calderon, was elected based on the fact that his party's pre-election polling showed him winning by 500,000 votes. Taking a page from Al Gore's playbook, Lopez Obrador wants yet anther recount and his taking his demands to court, saying "We are going to the Federal Electoral Tribunal with the same demand Â that the votes be counted Â because we cannot accept these results" and "we have to defend the citizens' will.Apparentlyty, like many on the left, he has deluded himself into thinking that the only way he could lose is if someone cheated.

My message to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is this - follow your own advice and defend the citizens' will. You lost to Calderon in twseparatete vote counts, and it's time to concede.

Tags: Mexico, Mexico Election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Felipe Calderon, Calderon, AMLO, Politica, PAN, Elecciones2006, prd

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T17:28:00.000-06:00

This blog may be about transcending national boundaries, but the blogger is proud to be an American. Happy birthday America!

Tags: 4th of July, Independence Day, USA, США, America, Freedom, Fourth of July

Mexico: Presidential Election Deadlocked!

2006-07-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

While Mexico's election commission had hoped to declare a winner last night based on a "quick count" of representative polling stations, it has now become clear that the resolution of this election is going to be anything but quick. With almost all of the votes counted, conservative Felipe Calderon and socialist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are virtually tied - and both of them have declared victory. Here are the results turned in by 95.6% of the polling places (top two candidates only):

Felipe Calderon - 36.46%
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - 35.41%

However, there is a catch. These numbers are not the OFFICIAL count, since they were counted at the various polling places across the country. The election commission will not declare a winner until they complete their own count of all the ballots - which will not even start until Wednesday. With such a razor-thin margin (about 500,000 votes) this election could easily go either way.

Regardless of who wins, this election is bound divide the Mexican population. Lopez Obrador pledged that he would govern for the poor, while Calderon's free market policies have caused him to be seen as a candidate of the rich. Both candidates had previously pledged to respect the result, but Lopez Obrador will not rule out calling massive street protests if he feels that he must "defend his triumph" (in other words, if he thinks he won but the election commission says otherwise).

Stay tuned....

Tags: Mexico, Mexico Election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Felipe Calderon, Calderon, AMLO, Politica, PAN, Elecciones2006, prd

PERSONS OF THE WEEK - June 26-July 1, 2006

2006-07-02T14:01:00.000-06:00

This week's choice was easy, but it was also difficult. The easy part was picking which story to focus on - nothing could equal Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, isolating one individual who had the most influence was very difficult. In the end, I chose to give the award to all three of the people who I think shaped the current situation.

First, could not ignore the man whose kidnapping triggered the military operation - a young Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit. His case has captured the attention of the entire world, and I'm sure that millions of people worldwide are praying for his safety. Luckily, the evidence seems to indicate that he is still alive. I can assure you that he is also in the prayers of this blogger, and I wish that I did not have to give him this award this week (as I would much rather he be safe than making this sort of news)

While Gilad Shalit may be the reason for the current situation, I also felt that I would be remiss if I did not mention the men who made the decisions about eeacatly how the rescue was to be carried out. Israel's leaders have made some very gutsy decisions throughout this campaign- most notably the decisions to arrest many prominent members of the Hamas-led Palestinian government and bomb the office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Hence, I feel that I must give a piece of this award to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Defence Minister, Amir Peretz.

So, for their contributions to the current situation in Israel, I name Gilad Shalit, Ehud Olmert, and Amir Peretz as ConservaGlobe's Persons of the Week.

Tags: Person of the Week, Gilad Shalit, Ehud Olmert, Olmert, Shalit, Amir Peretz, Israel, Gaza, News, Current Affairs, Current Events

Why Socialism Makes Me Angry

2006-06-30T17:41:00.000-06:00

It has recently come to my attention that my recent post on the elections in Slovakia was not as well-worded as it could have been. Specifically, I mistakenly gave the impression that I thought of East Europeans as lazy people who don't want to work for a living - this is not my opinion at all. I greatly admire the people and culture of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. In fact, I hope to work in that area of the world someday and I am learning Russian as a second language. My anger is not at the people of Eastern Europe, it is at the communists who (in my opinion) ruined the great nations of that region and stole a piece of every citizen's soul. As a student of political science, I have studied the damage that Socialist governments inflict on their countries, and it makes me nauseous. Hence, I have gotten to the point where the mere thought of a nation under the oppression of Communism (or it's slightly less deranged sisters Socialism, "Social Democracy", and Leftism) disgusts me almost to the point of tears.

So, I am going to try to calmly lay out why I think that Socialism is a deranged ideology which is incapable of producing positive results. Then I am going to re-explain my views on the current situation in Eastern Europe, and why I stand behind what I said (or at least meant to say) about the subject.

INHERENT FLAWS IN SOCIALIST IDEOLOGY

1. All forms of Socialism are based on hatred of a group of people. The fundamental basis of Socialism (especially in it's more radical forms) is that one class of people is oppressed by another. Now, anyone will agknowlege that there are oppressive people in the world. However, the problem is that Socialism stereotypes all of the members of one class (usually the rich) as being inherently oppressive and corrupt, while another class (usually the poor or the "workers") are cast as inherently wholesome and good. Some extremist regimes have used Socialist class-warfare rhetoric as a basis for institutionalized racism. In Africa, this approach is used by Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe - a socialist who connects modern white Zimbabweans to past colonialist oppression and then uses this as a justification for confiscating their farms and redistributing them to black Zimbabweans.

2. Socialism does not allow people to seek better lives for themselves. The purest form of Socialism (pure Communism) adheres to such a rigid concept of equality that it bans anyone from making more money than anyone else. Unfortunately, such a rigidly equal distribution leads to everybody being poor and legally disallowed from trying to find a way out of their poverty (because somebody were to not be poor, then this would create inequality). This is why I like to call Socialism an "ideology of starvation". Think about it, if half of the people in a country are starving and the rest are barely getting enough to eat, then an equal distribution of food will mean that those who are barely getting to eat will have food take away form them and given to the people who are starving. Hence, the people who were barely getting by are no longer getting by at all and the people who were starving STILL don't have enough to survive on. Is it really a coincidence that the beginning of a massive famine in Ethiopia coincided with the rise of a Marxist dictatorship.

3. Socialism takes away people's ability to provide for themselves and makes them dependent on the government for survival. This happens even in the most mild "Democratic Socialist" systems. Governments hike taxes to statospheric levels and then "give them back" in the form of massive government welfare programs. Take Sweden, which socialists often hold up as their idea of utopia. True, Sweden currently has the 2nd highest standard of living in the world, but things are not as utopian as they may seem. The number of people entering college in Sweden is dropping (I can't quote statistics at the moment, but I would be happy to look them up for inquiring minds) because many people have figured out that any wealth they might accumulate by entering a highly-skilled line of work will only be taken away by Sweden's highly progressive tax system (in which the percentage of you income that you pay in taxes goes up drastically when you earn more income). I personally think that, this is the reason that Sweden has one of the lowest GDP per capita numbers in the highly developed world! (GDP peer capita is the total amount of money produced by a nation's economy divided by its population, a pretty good measure of the strength of the economy). I think that, if it continues under it's current system, Sweden's economic decline will make it into a third world country within a few centuries.

HOW THIS ALL APPLIES TO EASTERN EUROPE

My comments regarding Eastern Europe hinged primarily on the third point. The rigid communist systems of the Soviet Union and its satellites made the people TOTALLY dependent on the government for the necessities of life. The generations that were born under Communism were never allowed to take care of themselves, which left them utterly unprepared for life in a capitalist society. Hence, it is only natural that after more than a decade of being worse off then they were before, he people would elect to go back to a more Socialist system. Unfortunately, for the reasons mentioned above, these new socialist systems will merely create the same horrible situation that existed under Communism and make future generations dependent and unable to survive. Under a capitalist system, the current generation may flounder, but their children will learn what it takes to make it in a free world. It is these children who I worry about, because they have the capability to make Eastern Europe one of the most prosperous places on Earth. Unfortunately, the Socialist governments that are now taking power could make the children as dependent as previous generations and ruin any chance for their nations to ever succeed.

THAT is why I become so angry and vitriolic when Socialists come to power.

Rock On, Israel!

2006-06-28T22:25:00.000-06:00

If you haven't been keeping up with world news, here's what's going on: Hamas militants took Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit hostage and demanded the release of all Palestinian women and "children" (under age 18) imprisoned in Israel. Instead of caving to such insane demands, the Israelis did what any sendible nation would have done - they responded with an overwhelming show of force. Tanks were sent into the Southern Gaza Strip. Large quantities of Israeli artillery shells were sent to the Northern Gaza Strip. All power and water was cut off to Gaza City, and the main roads into the city were closed off. 60 senior Hamas leaders were arrested, including the Deputy Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and several other members of the Palestinian cabinet. And just for good measure, Israeli fighter jets buzzed Syrian dictator Bashar Assad (as a warning not to interfere).

Now, I am not a proponent of excessive violence, but I think that this shock and awe campaign was both necessary and long overdue. Both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the terror groups it supports have been out of control for years, and it is high time time that somebody gave them a spanking. Israel has been begging the Palestinians to negotiate peace for decades, and their cries fell on deaf ears. The Palestinians were given more than enough (and some would say too many) chances to redeem themselves, but they RAMPED UP the violence instead of stopping it. Now they are paying the price. Unfortunately, the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit is proof that the terrorists who control the Palestinian Government (Hamas and Fatah both support terrorism) are not going to negotiate, and the only way to get them to cooperate is to bring them to their knees.

Those that say that this is an overreaction or that the kidnapping of one soldier is not sufficient justification for military action need to have their heads examined. When an Israeli citizen is kidnapped, the government's first and only responsibility is to ensure that he is rescued as quickly as possible, regardless of collateral damage. They have no responsibility to ensure that non-Israelis are not hurt as a result of the rescue effort.

Israel has tried to negotiate for years, and it backfired. No one in their right mind can blame them for forcing the issue after decades of attempts to make peace.

Lastly, I urge those who (like myself) have issues with the Israeli Government regarding the Gaza pullout to hold their tongues until this situation is over. We will have more than enough time to give pullout supporters a tongue-lashing later. For now, let's just cheer on the Israeli Military and pray for Gilad Shalit's safety.

ROCK ON, ISRAEL!

Tags: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Middle East, Terrorism, War on Terror, Military, Current Affairs, Politics, News, IDF, Gaza, Palestinians, Disengagement, Gaza Strip, Israel News, Gilad Shalit

Rep. Peter King Takes On the NY Times

2006-06-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

US Representative Peter King (R-NY) said Sunday that he thinks that the New York Times should be prosecuted for its recent publication of classified information regarding how the US Government tracks money that is being used to support terrorism. I agree. If any private citizen disclosed that information, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Freedom of the press is a cherished American value, but it does not give journalists the right to break the law whenever they feel like it. If any journalist thinks that they should be immune from US law, then they should leave the country. Otherwise, they should be subject to the same standards as the rest of us. Likewise, any journalist who claims that unbiased nature of their profession prevents them from taking national security into consideration before releasing information should relinquish their US citizenship. If a reporter wishes to have the privileges of being a citizen, then he must also take on the responsibilities of being a citizen.

I'm sure that someone reading this will accuse me of suggesting that the press should be censored, but nothing is further from the truth. The press should be free to print anything it wishes as long as it does not present a clear and present danger (which is the accepted standard for free speech), and I think that you would be hard pressed to find anyone who asserts that making top-secret information available to our enemies does not present a clear and present danger! And yes, I do think that terrorists who blow up our buildings, behead our citizens, and mutilate the bodies of our soldiers qualify as "enemies" of this country! Usually, making classified information available to people who are engaged in a war against our country falls under the category of treason, and I see know reason why it should be defined otherwise simply because the culprit happens to be the New York Times.

Tags: Peter King, NY Times, New York Times, Politics, Media, Mainstream Media, Main Stream Media, Media Bias, MSM

Terrorist Elected Leader of Somalia's New Parliament

2006-06-26T21:27:00.000-06:00

Somalia

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is listed as a terrorist by the US State Department, was elected yesterday as the head of a new parliament set up by the militant "Islamic Court Union" which recently captured Somalian capital of Mogadishu. Aweys is the former head of a militant group known as al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, which was once funded by Osama bin Laden and is supposedly linked to the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. It is unclear just how much power Aweys will have in the new "government" (which has no international recognition) , but his election is disturbing regardless of the exact role he plays. Supposedly, the top official in the new government is a more "moderate" islamist named Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. However, I tend to agree those who say that that the Islamic Court Union the African equivalent of the Taliban and could make Somalia into a haven for terrorists.

Tags: Aweys, Hassan Dahir Aweys, Islamic Courts Union, Mogadishu, Terrorism, Africa, War On Terror, Foreign Affairs

PERSON OF THE WEEK - June 18-24, 2005

2006-06-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

It's official: Hugo Chavez is no longer the most entertaining despot in Latin America. Instead, his newly elected ally in Bolivia has proven to be just as crazy as Chavez, but far more comedic. I knew that Bolivia was in for a wild ride when former coca farmer Evo Morales was inaugurated as president in January, but I never expected some of the wild antics that he has engaged in since being installed. He has shown a steadfast devotion to the coca plant he once farmed, suggesting that the leaves should be included in all school breakfasts due to their high calcium content. Of course, he neglected to mention their high COCAINE content!

While Morales' antics have been making news for months, it was only this week that he proved that he was even farther out in left field then his Venezuelan counterpart. Hugo Chavez has insisted for years that the CIA is trying to assassinate him, so it is only natural that his Bolivian protege would make similar accusations. However, Morales did his mentor one better by actually laying out the details of how American intelligence agents are infiltrating his country. In what the Associated Press calls a "mostly incoherent" six-page letter, Morales' office accuses the US-based non-profit Alliance for Conflict Transformation of being an office of the State Department. Supposedly, two instructors in the Alliance's yearly conflict resolution seminar(which teaches prospective leaders how to conduct peace negotiations) were really disguised US soldiers conducting espionage operations. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think that the US Military would give their officers the extra burden of having to the vast majority of their time teaching a seminar on how to peacefully resolve political problems, especially if they're supposed to be planning a violent overthrow of the Morales regime!

So, for giving politicos around the world a good laugh, Bolivian President Evo Morales is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week. Unfortunately, his subjects aren't sharing in the fun. Morales' radical socialist agenda is alienating the international community and his massive distribution of government lands to peasants are causing many honest land-owners to fear that their lands will be taken for redistribution as well. So, while this award goes to Morales for his comedy, the fact that such a wild and eccentric individual is in charge of Bolivia no cause for joy.

Photo Copyright Notice: The photo of Evo Morales used above was taken by Valter Campanato of Agencia Brasil. According to Wikipedia, Agencia Brasil (a public Brazilian news agency) allows its photos to be used for any purpose as long as the photographer and Agencia Brazil are credited.

Tags: Bolivia, evo morales, Politics, Current Affairs, News, Person of the Week

Santorum: WMD found in Iraq

2006-06-22T00:18:00.000-06:00

It's late, so I'm just going to link you to a post by Hot Air, which has video of Senator Santorum's press conference on the subject (with Rep. John Hoekstra) as well as Hannity and Colmes coverage on the subject.

Kim Jong-Il and His Toy Rocket

2006-06-21T23:29:00.000-06:00

In the previous days, the United States has learned that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il has taken up model rocketry as a hobby. Yes, I know that a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile capable of hitting the US is a little more severe that a 4H rocketry project. However, I really think that North Korea's missile program is nothing more than a childish game. Mr. Kim is just trying to get a rise out of George Bush by waving a little rocket in his face. The Taepodong-2 is nothing more than a stunt meant to intimidate the rest of the world (Kim knows that he has no real use for this weapon, because the US would flatten North Korea in response to any attack).

This brings me to my second point. It has also been mentioned that the US may decide to use the this test launch as target practice for our new missile defense shield (the missile would be launched over the pacific). The international community says that we shouldn't do it, but I disagree. Kim Jong-Il's childish games have gone far enough and it is time that the US showed him who's boss. If the missile comes anywhere near US territory, then it constitutes a military attack and we have every right to protect ourselves (especially considering that we are not totally sure that the missile isn't carrying some kind of weapon). If the United States Military is confident that they can take down the Taepodong-2, then I urge them to fire away. If, as many in the international community speculate, the missile is being used to launch a satellite, then that detail should have been made public. You can't blame the US for shooting down a satellite disguised as a ballistic missile.

In short, it is time for us to put an end to Kim Jong-Il's mischief by shooting his little toy rocket out of the sky - and I really don't care if losing his new toy makes him cry.

Tags: North Korea, Korea, Kim Jong-Il, Asia, Axis of Evil, WMD, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Taepodong 2

Slovakia: Capitalism Spurned

2006-06-21T22:05:00.000-06:00

Slovakia is not a nation that many people are terribly familiar with. Since the demise of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the infant nation of Slovakia has been somewhat overshadowed by it's more prominent sibling, the Czech Republic. However, Slovakia briefly captured the attention of the world on Saturday when it elected a new government.

For the last eight years, conservative Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda has been leading the country closer to the West by implementing free market reforms and building good relations with the U.S.A. and the European Union. However, the Slovakian electorate tossed Dzurinda's coalition on Saturday in favor of the socialist Smer ("Direction") Party. Smer leader Robert Fico has vowed to roll back all of Dzurinda's reforms; and for a free-market capitalist like myself, that smashing eight years of progress toward economic liberty. (As a sidenote, it is worth noting that Smer is really nothing more than the remnant of the old Communist Party, which splintered into several parties but re-merged as Smer in 2005). Another bleak development was the sudden rise of a radical Slovak nationalist party (apparently built on a distaste for the ethnic Hungarian minority). This new party is now being mentioned as a probable coalition partner for Smer (which needs the help of other parties to form a majority in the parliament). Maybe it's just me, but the thought of a government run by a coalition of ex-communists and ethnic nationalists leaves a very sour taste in my mouth.

The Smer takeover in Slovakia is not an isolated incident, either. All over Eastern Europe, voters are rejecting liberty and capitalism in favor of a return to more socialist policies. Poland has handed power to the Law and Justice Party (which is socially conservative but economically socialist). Voters in Eastern Germany are also turning to the remnant of the old Communist Party, now known as just the Left Party. After years of Communist rule, the people of Eatern Europe are finding out that moving toward capitalism is hard work. A free market economy holds the promise of a better life, but it also emphasizes that one must earn everything he has (and it is also possible to lose everything). Unfortunately, the voters are now opting for the easy way out - a return to the days where the bare-bones necessities of life were doled out by a communist government and the pursuit of a better life was outlawed.

The choice for Eastern Europe is clear: onward and upward toward a prosperous capitalist future or a return to the days where everyone was poor, but they didn't have to work to maintain their poverty. Unfortunately, it appears that voters are choosing the latter of the two options.

Tags: Slovakia, Smer, Robert Fico, Eastern Europe, Dzurinda

PERSON OF THE WEEK - June 11-17, 2006

2006-06-19T22:10:00.000-06:00

It took me a while to figure out who deserved the award this week. I thought about giving it to someone related to the surge of violence in Sri Lanka (which, to me, was the biggest news of the week), but then I realized that there were no individual people making news there. Then I thought about the World Cup soccer tournament, but I decided that I should probably wait until the later rounds to mention the world's largest sporting event. Then I thought of the elections in Slovakia and...Well...I think it's kind of self explanatory why I didn't choose that story. Finally, I came back to a suggestion made in my "Comments" section earlier in the week, Karl Rove.

True, I have a distaste for awarding this title to passive newsmakers (Karl Rove really didn't do anything, it was the special prosecutor who actually took action). However, I didn't have many other choices and I couldn't resist the opportunity to tip my hat to the man that we in the Conservative Movement call "The Architect" (Leftists call him other names, but I can't mention those on a family friendly blog). Besides Rove's non-indictment was a real shot in the arm for the Bush administration. It reminded the public that the Democrats rhetoric is just that - rhetoric and nothing more. With Rove exonerated, the Democrats can no longer run their congressional campaign on the idea of an imminent indictment of high-level administration officials (although they will probably try, which will only make them look desperate).

I congratulate the Architect on his exoneration and heave a sigh of relief at the thought that the legal system has not yet been to totally politicized. (The indictment would have been for a cover-up of a non-crime. Valerie Plame was not a covert operative, so mentioning her name was not a "leak". ) So, for not getting indicted and dealing a huge blow to the left-wing scandal-mongers, Karl Rove is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

NOTE: I wholeheartedly thank the commenter who suggested this selection. I can become so globally minded that I forget the news that happens right here in the USA. I would like Person of the Week to be an interactive feature, so please feel free to submit your own choices for the award!

DISCLAIMER FOR SLOVAKIANS: I do not mean to imply that Slovakia is without international significance. To the contrary, I think that this weeks elections were bellwether event for Eastern Europe (although a rather disheartening one). I may blog on it in the future, but I thought my readers might appreciate a well known Person of the Week for once. (That, and I wasn't in the mood to do the necessary research to write an informed commentary on Slovakian politic). I may yet comment on the subject, just not tonight.

Tags: Rove, Karl Rove, PlameGate, Valerie Plame, Bush, Politics, News, Person of the Week

Palestinians Torch Thier Own Parliament!

2006-06-12T23:36:00.000-06:00

If you thought politics was brutal in the West, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Today, gunmen supporting Palestinian President Abbas' Fatah Party shot up the parliament and cabinet buildings in Ramallah and then set them ablaze. Why? Because they're angry that the legislative branch is controlled by the opposition Hamas Party. Now, I have no love for Hamas, but this is ridiculous! As a sidenote, Fatah is supposed to be the more moderate of the two major Palestinian parties. Then again, just about anyone looks moderate when compared to a party of suicide bombers.

This is what a self-governing Palestine looks like. This is the cause that world leftists have been championing for years. This is what happens when you turn a blind eye to terrorists like the PLO and allow them to brainwash their people for decades on end! I hope that all of the anti-Zionists in Europe and around the world are enjoying this spectacle. All of you who though the Israelis were the bad guys, take a look a the Frankenstein monster that you helped build!

Tags: Israel, Palestinians, Hamas, Fatah, Middle East, Terrorism, Politics, Current Affairs

PERSON OF THE WEEK - June 4-10, 2005

2006-06-12T22:55:00.000-06:00

And you all thought I was going to say it was Zarqawi (chuckle). All kidding aside, Zarqawi's death was without doubt the biggest news event of the week. However, I really don't think that it's fair to call a dead man an active newsmaker. Instead, I think that the person who turned in the terrorist mastermind is the one who deserves this accolade.

The world is forever in the debt of the ordinary Iraqi(s) who aided coalition forces in finding this monster. Without his/her/their help, hundreds more innocent Iraqis could have been killed by Zarqawi's group (not to mention the foreign hostages who would have been beheaded). Of course, there will still be violence, but I think that al-Qaeda in Iraq will never be the same without "the Slaughterer Shiekh" at the helm.

My profound thanks the tipster. Whoever he/she is, they have more than earned the title of Person of the Week (not to mention a $25 million reward).

Honoaralbe Mention: Peruvian President-Elect Alan Garcia

Tags: Zarqawi, al-Zarqawi, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Terrorism, Middle East, Iraq, War, War on Terror, Iraq War, War in Iraq, Jihad, News, Person of the Week

WOW!

2006-06-12T00:38:00.000-06:00

In my last post, I jokingly "tagged" blogosphere giant Hugh Hewitt in a little game that has been floating around the blogosphere. I never thought for a minute that a big shot Mr. Hewitt would actually find my post, let alone respond. However, I noticed tonight that my hit-counter had recorded more hits than this blog has ever received in one day (168 and climbing). Sure enough, Hugh Hewitt had posted his response to the question "What sitcom character would you like to grow up to be?" and linked back to this blog.

So, my sincerest thanks to Mr. Hewitt for taking the time to respond. I am very honored and humbled to know that the man who (literally) wrote the book on blogging visited my site.

Just in case you wanted to know, Mr. Hewitt wants to be Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Okay, JB, I'll play along...

2006-06-10T17:56:00.000-06:00

JB over at A Voice for Freedom has "tagged" me in some sort of bizarre online escapade in which bloggers pose the question "what sitcom character would you like to grow up to be?" to other bloggers. (Note: I am over the age of eighteen, so I am rephrasing to question to "what sitcom character would you like to be?")

Before I answer, let me say that this question caused me considerable mental distress. I hate, loathe, despise, and abhor most modern sitcoms. Why? Because, in the first place, I like television that stimulates brain cells rather than killing them. I watch five shows on a weekly basis: American Idol (because I am a trained vocalist and like to watch artists develop), Survivor (because I think that it is an interesting sociological experiment), CSI (because I like to see if I can figure the case out before Grissom does), Without a Trace (Because it's on after CSI), and Grey's Anatomy (okay, I don't have a good reason for that one). Other than that, I generally limit my viewing to news, documentaries, Iron Chef, and Country Music Videos (If I'm really bored).

Secondly, I am sick of the fact that nearly all male sitcom characters are always absolute idiots while most female characters (not counting mother-in-laws and the token crazy chick) are far more intelligent and well spoken. If you disagree, I ask you to consider the following examples: Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, and Home Improvement. As further proof, I cite that fact that my conservative compatriot JB was forced to choose a female character in order to find someone that he would want to be (Yes, I am sure that JB is male; I have met him personally). I have nothing against intelligent female characters, I just wish that the male characters were equally intelligent.

Now that you have read my diatribe on how much I loathe sitcoms, you will understand why I had to spend a considerable amount of time racking my brain in order to answer the question. First I had to try to remember the last time that I watched a sitcom, then I had to try to remember a sitcom in which I actually knew who the characters were, then I had to pick one I liked. After much deliberation, I realized that there was one sitcom that I used to really like. Then it hit me that this same sitcom was the only one that I could think of where one of the male characters actually had his head screwed on correctly. So, if I had to be a sitcom character, I would probably be...

(drumroll)

Martin Crane from "Frasier"!

Martin was an ex-cop whose simple common sense always seemed much more intelligent than the professional opinions of his two psychiatrist sons, Frasier and Niles. According to Wikipedia, Martin was also a strong conservative. In one episode, he endorsed a "far-right" candidate for congress (I never saw the episode, so I cannot state my personal opinion on this candidate. I'm sure that the guy was made to look like evil incarnate.) He also once referred to a US Senator as a "bleeding heart - soft on crime". While Martin did once state that he was concerned about global warming, I think that is safe to say that he probably voted Republican most of the time.

I'm also supposed to tag three others as part of this foolishness. So, I elect to tag STRICTCONLAWMAN at ConservativeLaw; Mortimus Q. Squid, Esq. at The Political Wisdom of Mortimus Squid (even though I am sure that he considers this game to be beneath his dignity), and Hugh Hewitt (who has probably never heard of this blog, but I couldn't think of anyone else off the top of my head).

So, the rules of the game are as follows:

1. Answer the question.
2. Link back to the person who tagged you.
3. Tag three of your friends in the blogosphere.

Ding, Dong! Zarqawi's Dead!

2006-06-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

1966-2006

Normally, I am not the type of guy who wishes death on anyone (although I firmly support the death penalty for convicted murderers). When Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed, I was relieved, but I was disappointed that they were not captured alive to stand trial. They should have payed for their crimes on Earth BEFORE they were dispatched to the deepest circle of hell. Zarqawi is different.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was one of the most evil men on the planet, and he needed to be taken out. Someone like that is not a person who you take great pains to capture alive, he is somebody that you get rid of as quickly as possible and at any cost. Personally, the thought of Zarqawi awaiting trial in the comfort of the Guantanamo Hilton sickens me (maybe I could stomach the idea if he was allowed to rot in an Iraqi jail instead, but Gitmo is way to good for him). While it would have been nice to see him drug before a court of justice in shackles, I am not at all disappointed with the way things panned out. Zarqawi deserved his grisly fate, and I'm happy that he got it. My only complaint is that I think that death might be too lenient of a punishment for such a monster. But then again, I'm sure that Hell is worse then anything humans could ever dish out.

Tag: Zarqawi

Peru Election Results

2006-06-06T22:05:00.000-06:00

Alan Garcia won Sunday's presidential election in Peru, and lovers of democracy can breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that Hugo Chavez will NOT have a friend in Peru. Ollanta Humala, a far-leftist with ties to Chavez and other Latin American radicals, was soundly defeated. Garcia may be a socialist, but at least he's a moderate socialist who loves democracy and abhors Chavismo (Chavez-ism). Viva Peru!

Tags: Peru, Perú, Politica, Ollanta Humala, Humala, Alan Garcia, Peru Election, Peru Elections, Elections, Democracy, News, Politics, Peru Runoff, Hugo Chavez, Chavismo

PERSON OF THE WEEK - May 28-June 3, 2006

2006-06-04T14:44:00.000-06:00

When the week started, a young nation was on the brink of collapse. When the week ended, East Timor appeared to be stabilizing - and it was all because of President Xanana Gusmao. Don't get me wrong, things are still pretty bad, but Gusmao's pragmatic leadership has kept the situation from disintegrating into irreparable chaos. When the capital city of Dili descended into chaos, Gusmao took direct control of the defense and interior ministries (the minister’s had steeped down as a result of the violence) and set about trying to end the violence. While these actions had an effect, I think that Gusmao may have made an impact by simply making impassioned public cries for peace.

In many other nations, a president's call for peace would have been laughed off by opposition rebels, but not in East Timor. In Timor, Gusmao isn't just a political leader, he is the embodiment of the nation itself. He spent decades leading a guerilla uprising against the forced annexation of East Timor by Indonesia and is revered as a national icon by the government and the rebels alike. In fact, the rebels don’t demand the fall of the government, they are merely asking Gusmao to fire the prime minister. They have no issues with the president himself (and if they did, I doubt that they would have the audacity to voice them). In short, Xanana Gusmao is to East Timor what George Washington was to the United States, and mere words from his lips seem to be enough to cause significant change. I give him kudos for using his power to hold his young democracy together rather than consolidating power for himself.

Xanana Gusmao is not perfect (he is a member of the socialist Fretilin party, so I obviously have some disagreements with him there), but he provided tremendous leadership to a nation in turmoil. In my book, he has more than earned the title of Person of the Week.

Tags:Timor-Leste, Timor, Gusmao, Xanana, Democracy, News, World News, Xanana Gusmao, East Timor, Person of the Week

Peru's Presidential Runoff

2006-06-03T19:18:00.000-06:00

Peru will be electing a president tomorrow, and you'll have to pardon me for being less than enthused about either of the candidates. The main conservative candidate, Lourdes Flores, was knocked out in the first round on April 9th. So, Peruvians get to choose between leftist former president Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala, a radical leftist who has been openly endorsed by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Garcia's first administration (1985-90) was marked by runaway inflation, the decline of five million Peruvians into poverty, a 20% drop in Peru's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the rise of the communist Shining Path guerilla insurgency. Peruvians were so sick of politics as usual by the time his term ended that they elected an anti-establishment populist named Alberto Fujimori, who disbanded congress in 1992 and ruled as dictator until 2000.

Humala, on the other hand, is a former army officer who mounted an unsuccessful rebellion against Fujimori in 2000. His family heads the Etnocacerista movement, which promotes nationalizing industry and legalizing coca cultivation. Etnocaceristas also advocate placing Native Americans in positions of power at the expense of other ethnic groups. Humala has also been openly endorsed by Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia, both of whom are radical socialists who hate the US and accuse George Bush of trying to assassinate them.

Putting Alan Garcia back in power would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. However, elevating an ultra-nationalist radical socialist like Humala to the presidency would be even more destructive to Peru. So, faced with the choice between a leftist and a LEFTIST, I find myself begrudgingly hoping that Alan Garcia is returned to power.

Tags: Peru, Perú, Política, Ollanta Humala, Humala, Alan Garcia, Peru Election, Peru Elections, Elections, Democracy, News, Politics, Peru Runoff

More East Timor Coverage

2006-05-31T22:18:00.000-06:00

I found a blog by a UN volunteer who just evacuated from Dili and still has contact with people in East Timor. It's really sobering to read and I highly suggest that you go there.

Click here to link to "Tumbleweed in Timor Lorosae".

Note: the above link takes you directly to a post that I really think that you ought to read. To link to the whole blog, click here.

Tag: East Timor

Chaos in East Timor, President Assumes Emergency Powers

2006-05-30T20:59:00.000-06:00

East Timor

After all of the jubilation in Montenegro last week, one might forget that starting a new country from scratch can be risky business. This week, the breakdown of order in the world's second youngest nation showed us just how hard it can be. After years of Portuguese colonization and then a brutal takeover by Indonesia in 1975, East Timor finally took it's destiny into it's own hands in 2002. It entered the world as the poorest nation on the planet (based on GDP per capita), and it remains so today.

The chaos started in April, when 40% of the East Timorese army (600 soldiers) went AWOL because the government seemed to be granting promotions only to soldiers from the eastern part of the country. The government responded by officially kicking the deseters out of the army, causing riots to erupt in the capital city of Dili. Local gangs took advantage of the riots and Dili disintegrated into a giant gang war.

Today, President Xanana Gusmao (who normally plays a largely ceremonial role) declared a state of emergency and took direct control of security forces and the Interior Ministry. This is a drastic move and would be seen as the first step toward dictatorship in many countries. Luckily, Gusmao doesn't seem like the power-hungry type. He usually does his best to stay out of day-to-day politics and has refused cave in to demands that he fire the democratically elected Prime Minister (who is very unpopular). However, this incident does go to show just how fragile democracy can be, especially in an infant nation like East Timor.

Xanana Gusmao

Tags:Timor-Leste, Timor, Gusmao, Xanana, Democracy, News, World News

PERSON OF THE WEEK - May 21-27, 2006

2006-05-28T00:21:00.000-06:00

This week's choice was an absolute no-brainer. After all, new nations do not appear on the map every day. As this is one of the rare weeks that this does happen, it is hard to make the case that anyone made a bigger contribution this week than the man who led Montenegro to independence.

I could spend time rambling on about how I disagree with many of Milo Đukanović's political tactics, but that seems rather irrelevant at the moment. The plain fact is that, as Prime Minister of Montenegro, he was THE preeminent champion of Montegrin independence and as such must be considered the father of a sovereign Montenegro. Hopefully, he will have helped found a new democracy on the ashes of decades of Yugoslavian dictatorship. For that, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović is ConservaGlobe's person of the week.

Honorable Mention: American Idol Taylor Hicks
Dishonorable Mention: British MP George Galloway

Tag: Milo Dukanovic, Montenegro, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Person of the Week

Independence for Montenegro!

2006-05-22T22:17:00.000-06:00

Yugoslavia is officially dead. The last remaining vestige of that artificial nation, a loose confederation known as Serbia and Montenegro, was shattered in Sunday's referendum on independence for the tiny republic of Montenegro. 55.4% of Montenegrins (yes, that is the correct spelling) voted to finally unhitch themselves from their much larger partner, Serbia.

Yugoslavia was a noble experiment, seeking to unite the Slavic peoples of the Balkans. However, it was doomed from the beginning by the fact that the people of the region already had very defined national identities and it disintegrated in a bloody conflagration over which ethnic group should have control (Slobodan Milosevic's wars over Croatia and Bosnia in the 1990s). I have always argued that arbitrarily drawn borders that disregard deeply-rooted ethnic divisions are a recipe for disaster, and Yugoslavia. Hopefully, the region known as the powder keg of Europe will finally have peace now that all of the people groups of the Balkans have their own nation-states.

Yugoslavia was (in my opinion) a horrible mistake. Hopefully things will go better for Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Montenegro now that they can all control their own destinies.

Congratulations to the people of the newly independent nation of Montenegro!

Best wishes to Park Geun-Hye

2006-05-22T21:11:00.000-06:00

An assailant slashed the cheek of Park Geun-Hye, the chairwoman of South Korea's conservative Grand National Party, with a box cutter on Saturday. The wound required 17 stiches and Park may not be able to speak properly for months. At the moment, she can barely move her mouth at all. Luckily, she seems to be making a relatively quick recovery.

ConservaGlobe sends its best regards to Park Guen-Hye and wishes her a speedy recovery.

PERSON OF THE WEEK - May 14-20, 2006

2006-05-21T23:37:00.000-06:00

Since the inception of the Person of the Week award, I have had an unwritten policy of avoiding giving the title to the President of the United States. It's nothing personal, I just figured that Bush makes so much news that he would win the title every other week if I gave it to him whenever he earned it. However, this week I just couldn't ignore him. Whether you liked last Monday's speech or not (I didn't see it, so I'm undecided), you have to concede the fact he seems to have broken the logjam on the illegal immigration issue. The Senate finally got together and passed a bill that they could all agree on, possibly taking the first baby step toward deciding what to do about the border. Sure, there are BAD parts to the immigration bill, but it's a start.

Whether you agree with the President or not, you have to admit that he had a big impact on the world last week. So, for better or for worse, George W. Bush's push to resolve the issue of illegal immigration has earned him the title of Person of the Week.

PERSON OF THE WEEK - May 7-13, 2006

2006-05-16T22:41:00.000-06:00

Hands down, the best quote I have heard from anyone all year came out of Shimon Peres' mouth last week. During an interview with Israel's armed forces radio network, the Isreali Vice Premeir responded to Iran's saber-rattling by saying that the Iranian president "needs to remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map". To me, that one gutsy remark made Peres last week's most memorable newsmaker.

So, for putting the Iranians in their place, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Ahmadenjad's Letter to Bush

2006-05-09T22:48:00.000-06:00

Regime Change Iran has published the full text of the letter which was sent to President Bush by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad yesterday (CLICK HERE TO READ IT).

While I found the letter rather interesting, it doesn't really offer any hope of renewed diplomatic contact. Ahmadinejad simply lists a litany of grievances (some of which coud be better classified as "wild accusations"), pontificates about religion (I think he was trying to convicince Bush to convert to Islam), and then concludes by predicting the fall of Western democracy and basically saying that people around the world are flocking to his point of view (although he presents in as his god's point of view). Ahmadenijad's diatribe may be a lot of things, but it is NOT an attempt at recnciliation.

Peres: "Iran can also be wiped off the map."

2006-05-08T13:59:00.000-06:00

I am not a big fan of Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres' center-leftist politics, but today he said something truly brilliant. In a radio interview, he addressed all of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad's recent bluff and bluster by saying, "The president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map." He also responded to the letter that Ahmadenijad supposedly sent to George Bush suggesting "new solutions" to the current crisis, "Teheran is making a mockery of the international community's efforts to solve the crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear program,"

Finally, someone with enough guts to spit in Ahmadenjad's face instead of handling him with kid gloves! You won't hear me say this very often (in fact, you probably will not hear me say it ever again), but at least for today - SHIMON PERES ROCKS!

Tags : Israel, Terrorism, Middle East, Iran, Shimon Peres, Peres, Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, Ahmadenijad, Iran President, President of Iran, Iranian President

PERSON OF THE WEEK - April 30-May 6, 2005

2006-05-08T00:55:00.000-06:00

To be perfectly honest, I really don't think that this was a terribly important news story. It really had no political implications other than the fact that it gives the conservative punditry yet another far-left Kennedy to make fun of. That said, it was about the most interesting thing that happened this week and it does illustrate that there are some BIG problems in out country's leading Democratic political dynasty. While I vehemently disagree with everything the modern Kennedy family stands for and am not sure that they are suited for public office, I do have to say that I feel terribly sorry for them as a family. As conservatives, I think that we should probably be praying for them rather than laughing at them. So, for forcing me to stop and think about all the times that conservatives like me have used Ted Kennedy and the rest of his family as the butt of jokes, Patrick Kennedy is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Note: This in no way means that I have any intention of lightening my criticism of Ted Kennedy and others on the left when it comes to their policy or other political matters. This blog will continue to call a spade a spade and will not sugarcoat the facts.

Secondly, if any leftist on a high horse thinks that this blog entry implies that conservatives are more mean-spirited than liberals, then I will be more than happy to detail a litany of situations in which the left has given the same (and often worse) treatment to George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Tom DeLay, Rush Limbaugh, and other conservatives.

. Tag:Patrick Kennedy,Kennedy, Politics,News, Person of the Week, Current Affairs, Ted Kennedy

PERSON OF THE WEEK - April 23-29, 2006

2006-05-01T00:10:00.000-06:00

As a massive boycott of the U.S. economy by Hispanic immigrants nears, I find it appropriate to award Person of the Week to a British producer who thought that it would be cool to salute immigrants to the United States by recording a Spanish-language version of the Star Spangled Banner. I personally beleive this to be inappropriate for several reasons. I haven't personally heard the song, but I think that any version of our anthem that does not include the prodominant language of this country and the language the song was penned in, English, is not acceptable. The reason is simple - most Americans (meaning citizens of the United States) will not be able to understand it! Second, I think that saying that this recording is a tribute to all immigrants is a slap in the face to all of those immigrants whose first language is not Spanish. This song is NOT a tribute to immigration, it is a tribute only to Hispanic immigrants (more specifically, it is probably intended to salute only those people who entered illegally from Mexico). Lastly, I think that it is a slap in the face to this great nation for anyone (especially a foreigner) to use our anthem as a method to salute those who break our laws!

So, for messing with the national anthem and causing a royal ruckus, music producer Adam Kidron is ConservaGlobes Person of the Week.

Note: I am not opposed to the translation of our anthem into other languages (as long as it is accompanied by an English rendition). I think that an approprite response by those of us who support LEGAL immigration would be to record a TRUE salute to the American melting pot by recording our own translation of our anthem - a trnaslation that includes the languges of all (or at least many) of the ethnic groups that make our nation great: English, Spanish, Native American languges, French, Italian, Yiddish, Dutch, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Tagalog, Hindi, Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Vietnamese just to name a few.

GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

MILINKEVICH JAILED!!!!

2006-04-27T16:19:00.000-06:00

Belarussian opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich has been sentenced to 15 days in jail in connection with a massive protest that he organized.

This could be a big news story and I will watch it closely.

Stay tuned...

PERSON OF THE WEEK - April 16-22, 2006

2006-04-27T00:00:00.000-06:00

Nobody really stood out last week, so I decided to use this award to congratulate one of my favorite world leaders on the first aniversary of his election. As a non-Catholic, I think that Benidict has done a fine job. So, for continuing the legacy of John Paul II while putting his own unique spin on the papacy, Pope Benedict XVI is ConservaGlobe's Person of the week.

Chaos in the Solomon Islands - Aussies Send Troops

2006-04-19T23:29:00.000-06:00

Solomon Islands

Riots have broken out in Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands. The citizens are angry that the newly elected parliament's choice of Prime Minister, a man named Snyder Rini. Rini was Deputy Prime Minister in the outgoing administration of PM Allan Kemakeza, which was apparently rather corrupt. There is also speculation that the government of Taiwan attempted to influence the election (The Solomon Islands are among the few nations that grant Taiwan diplomatic recognition, so Taiwan has a vested interest in making sure that a friendly government is elected in the Solomons).

Personally, I have no clue what to make of this because I know very little about this particular country, but the Australians seem to think that this is a pretty big problem. They sent over 100 troops to help restore order.

Stay tuned...

Note to Bush: PLEASE pick Tony Snow!

2006-04-19T22:57:00.000-06:00

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan stepped down today. On one hand, I am sorry to see him leave. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. McClellan, he served the administration well and I admire anyone who has the guts to go up against the White House Press Corps.

That said, I think that the Bush Administration has a golden opportunity here. Rumor has it that radio talk show host and former Fox News anchor Tony Snow is one of the front-runners to replace McClellan, and I think that he would be an absolutely fantastic choice. Snow is already a well known figure, which means that he will bring a huge measure of authority and credibility to the position. He also has extensive experience working in the media, he's probably worked with journalists of all shapes and sizes every day for years - not as a source of information, but also has a colleague.

Tony Snow is also a political outsider who is known to have strong opinions of his own, so he will be seen as a force in his own right - not just a talking head. To top it all off, Snow is also one of the most level-headed commentators on the radio today, and I think he is the type of guy who could make fools of the press corps when need be while still maintaining a positive rapport with journalists and television audiences.

In short, I think that Tony Snow has the capability to be the most dynamic White House Press Secretary that this nation has ever seen.

I BEG THE PRESIDENT TO OFFER TONY SNOW THIS JOB, AND I BEG MR. SNOW TO ACCEPT.

Tags: Tony Snow, Scott McClellan, McClellan, Bush, White House, White House Press Secretary, Press Secretary

PERSON OF THE WEEK - April 9-15, 2006

2006-04-16T23:02:00.000-06:00

Iranian President Ahmadinejad now says that his country has enriched unranium (meaning that they could make a nuclear bomb if they want to). He has also escaleated his rhetoric against Israelm telling the Jewish state that it can expect too be eliminated "soon". Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't sound like Iran's nuclear program is as peaceful as Ahmadenijad would like the world to think.

So, for putting Iran withing spitting distance of getting the bomb, threatening Israel with nuclear holocaust, and making the world wonder if it's nuclear nightmares are about to come true - Mahmoud Ahmadenjad is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Note: LONG LIVE ISRAEL!

PERSON OF THE WEEK - April 2-8, 2006

2006-04-09T22:51:00.000-06:00

This was a busy week in the world of politics and in the world in general. There were a couple of big names that could have contended for this title, but Katie Couric, The Senators who authored the short lived compromise on illegal immigration, and even so-called Gospel of Judas take a back seat to the king of a small Himalayan nation this week.

Gyanendra has ruled Napal by decree since 2003, when his dismissed the democratically elected Prime Minister, who he deemed unable to deal with a rampaging Maoist (communist) guerilla insurgency. As you have probably guessed, the king's popularity has taken a nose dive since then (and he wasn't all that popular to begin with). The pro-democracy oppositon has been gaining strenth, and this week thousands took to the streets of Kathmandu to protest the monarchy. They were met by riot police, and at least one protester was killed.

Now, normally I am ecstatic about uprisings like this one, but this time I'm not. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for democracy in Nepal. However, I am very disturbed by the fact that, in order to gain enough strength to oust Gyanendra, the pro-Democracy forces have been forming loose ties with the brutal Maoist guerillas. Now that the Maoists are part of the milleu, it is becoming harder to see the opposition as a positive force. If they succeed in toppling the king now, many fear that they will bring anarchy rather than democracy and that the Maoists will become more powerful.

While the opposition has done a pretty good job of messing things up, I still place the blame for this whole situaltion sqaurely on Gyanendra's shoulders. If he hadn't ousted the forces of democracy, those same forces would not now be forced to ally themselves to the Maoists, and there would not be bloodshed on the streets of Kathmandu. So, for making a royal mess out of his country, King Gyanendra of Nepal is ConservaGlobe's Person of the Week.

Tags: Nepal, South Asia, Asia, News, Revolutions, Democracy, Politics, Gyanendra, Person of the Week

Iraqi Liberation Day!

2006-04-09T22:27:00.000-06:00

Today marks the third aniversary of the liberation of Iraq from the brutal, dictatorial reign of r imposed by Saddam Hussien. For three years, Iraqis have been able to choose their own destiny.

Now, for those of you out there who think that my claims of liberation and freedom are either bogus or stupid, let me point out a few things.

1. Iraqis have had several free and fair elections in the last year, and the last two have elected parliaments that were not led by the parties that the U.S. would have preferred (Iyad Allawi's secular party). Instead, a somewhat religious Shi'ite party has won both elections.

2. The U.S. is letting Iraqi democracy take shape without intervening. Trust me, I'm sure President Bush is really angry at Prime Minister al-Jaafri right now, since he is refusing to step down in favor of a candidate more acceptable to all Iraqis. However, I have not yet seen al-Jaafri thrown out of office by the U.S. Armed Forces. Instead, we are letting the elected parliament do its job and allowing them to debate ad nauseaum who should lead thier nation.

3. The sectarian clashes that you are seeing now are actually manifestations of the new freedoms that Iraqis now enjoy. Yes, they are a little over the top (not to mention destructive and dangerous), but they look to me like the earliest portion of U.S. history, when there were several rebellions over how the new nation would be governed. In all honesty, the only reason that these clashes didn't happen earlier was that Hussein's tactics of ham-fisted repression managed to keep the population in fear of the govenment. Any demonstration of Shi'ite pride, would probably have been met with a spray of gunfire from the Republican Guard. Hussein also bears some of the blame for these riots because he severely inflamed the tension between Sunni and Shi'ite during his reign. This new conlict is not only long overdue, it is absolutely necessary. The two groups need to resolve their issues before they can forge ahead in the process of building a better, stronger Iraq.

So, I send my best wishes to the people and government of a new, free Iraq on the aniversary of their liberation.

Tags: Iraq, War in Iraq,