Welcome to Outsiderviews. We live in interesting times. The theme here is "Alitshoni lingenandabadaba" which in Xhosa means, " Each day brings its fresh baggage of news..."
We will work to reflect upon this "baggage" and provide some perspective and insightit!!!
Thanks for your visit and your interest.
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North Korea has been at it. They just fired off at least two more missiles today to push the fiction that they are a force to be reckoned with. I suppose Mr. Kim timed the latest salvo to coincide with the 4th of July holiday which will a day of celebrations in the United States.
From the research I have done on Kim Jong Il, he seems to understand the world. He is not a fool. What he is trying to do is to preserve the Kim Dynasty. As he makes his "moves, his people seem to pretend to have a life of normlacy. I found this report from Al Jazeera to be particuarly interesting:
The day after, though, is one that the world should plan for. Kim Jong IL is busily planning for the day he is gone. The question is whether the world will be ready or not?
Governor Palin has announced that she is stepping down as Governor of Alaska. This is as bizarre and weird as it gets. It is so strange that all the leading lights in the Republican Party are dropping. What if she ran for President, she won (a really long shot at that) and found that the challenges were too great? Would she just transfer authority to the Vice President and simply resign?
Maybe there is more to it than this...There is of course a book deal, probably a gig on Fox and other "things" that distracts her from doing her job including the ethics complaint. I wish her well as she moves on with her new "prorities" in life to effect her vision of "positive change". She certainly has her legions of fans in the Republican Party and will surely attempt at run at the White House. She will make it interesting, to say the least.
This report from the BBC details the continued repression and control in Iran. The blame game continues. The controls are getting every tougher. Although the struggle for freedom is entering a new phase, the coup leaders in Iran are determined to hang on at any price. One of the coup leaders, Janati, delivered a sermon during Friday prayers in Tehran. He noted that staff members of the British Embassy will be put on trial for subversive action. He noted that there were "proof" of their culpability. This proof is indeed like how he saw to it that the election was rigged as it was. When will they stop believing their own nonsense?
Our World continues to be as tumulous as ever. In Afghanistan, the major offensive continues. A top British officer was killed in operations in Helmand--the first in over 27 years according to the reports I reviewed. I also saw reports of an American Soldier having been kidnapped and subsequently sold to a militant clan.
Moving on to South Asia, there is Burma. The UN Secretary General is going to Burma to press for the political opening that has elluded Burma so far. I think it is a risky trip for Mr. Ban because the thugs who run Burma seem not to want to listen to reason. In the meantime, Aung San Suu Kyi, is under detention and her trial was postponed yet again. The Secretary General seems to realize how tough a mission he has undertaken. What are the thugs afraid of? Why can't they just disappear like the thugs who ran Argentina and Chile?
As For California, the budget freak show continues. A local radio station featured an interview with a vendor supplying French Fries to California Prisons telling the world how things would be tough in a while if he did not get the money he needed. An estimated $ 53 Million in IOU's went out, paying 3.5% interest rate with a maturity date of October 2009. Apparently some banks will start accepting them. They'll make a cool 3.5%--not a bad deal at all? It is a good deal for the bank, but a bad deal for taxpayers. There have been reports that there may be something in the offing soon. But, the people of California have been there before and will not believe anything until something tangible is actually done. Now, according to the Sacramento Bee, the battle is now over school funding. The funding has been decimated already. Where else are they going to cut?
As for Iran, the struggle has evolved into a new phase. I saw a column (appearing in the Friday edition of the Financial Times) by Philip Stevens about advocating an engagement with Iran. But, right now, the official opposition in the country has rejected the official version of the election. The struggle has evolved into a civil disobdience campaign with subtle moves like wearing green, continuing the "Allah-O-Akbar" chants and spreading the world further around the world. The struggle is not over by any means.
Moving on to China, though, let's check off a win for Free Speech. The Chinese Government backed off a mandate to force Chinese Computer Makers to load its' computers with Green Dam to help control the flow of information through the interent. The Chinese seem to continue to learn and evolve. Although certain redlines will never be crossed by the Chinese Communist Party.
It is quite a world we live in. It is fascinating, exciting and fun to write about and reflect upon. May it ever be so as America celebrates another year of its' existence as a beacon of hope and opportunity for the world......The fight continues on......
The reports from Afghanistan say that that US Marines have made their first major move in Afghanistan. 4,000 marines are moving against the Taliban in Helmand backed up with Helicopter Gunships. Supposedly, the new policy is to clear and hold. The BBC is right now talking to a Marine Spokesman on the strategy on this. It is clear that this reflects the new thinking that the new Commander, General McCrystal, has brought to bear in changing the realities on the ground.
Reports say that he was in financial difficulty. That's for sure. The conspiracy theorists will have their say. They apparently already did when the Daily Beast Chief Investigative Reporter went as far as he did speculating as he did based on some revealation some unnamed associate of Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson will probably be bigger in death than in life. But, the WTF moments will continue because of the fascination with celebrities. Such speculation is wrong and should not be allowed. I realize that it is wishful thinking.
California's budget freak show goes on nonstop. As I write this, the two factions are going back and forth. In the meantime, state workers, vendors and bondholders are stuck in the middle. Certain payments will have to be made. But, this has been going on for a year.
The Feds have threatened to seize six of the State Parks the State has threatened to close due to budget cuts. Such a closure means that the Feds have the right to take it back. I hope they do. What is only coming out of Sacramento is the blame game that politicans are experts at I wonder what would Charlie Brown do? Whatever one may think of him, he has got more common sense that the entire California Legislature and the Governor combined!!!
Update: The prognosis is quite bleak. Right now, the BBC just did a report on this predicament. It will not be over by any means for quite some time.
The struggle in Iran is very much evident in this image. Web 2.0 has been at the frontline of the struggle, whether it likes it or not. Although events in Iran have largely fallen off the attention span of the Mainstream Media, the struggle continues unabatted. Today, Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff came out swinging saying that the European Union was not qualified to participate in nuclear arms negotations because of their "meddling" in the elections. The Europeans, though, are in the midst of deliberations to potentialy withdraw their Ambassadors from Iran.
The Guardian Council, though, went through the routine of counting the 10 percent random vote. They even came out and said that their man had gotten more votes than before. The question they have never answered is simple: how can an entity that is supposed to be the highest deliberative body in the country who supports one candidate be impartial? Blaming the ones who have been wronged seems to be the order of the day. Even the genuis writers at Comedy Central's the Daily Show could not have come up with as great a script as this. One truly wonders whether they truly believe in what they are saying.
The campaign is continuing online, though. Mr. Mousavi's Facebook page has been quite active in urging people to continue their civil resistance. This "resistance" seems to be transitioning into a third phase. The Basji, apparently, is starting to target homes at night to silence the chants of Allah-o-Akbar--god is great. They have also come out swinging demanding prosecution of Mr. Mousavi, the opposition candidate. Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karoubi have continued to issue prouncements rejecting the legality of the election and have vowed to press on with the campaign.
As this campaign enters its so-called third phase, Roula Khalaf of the Financial Times was right on when she noted that, "....he Iranian regime will not - and should not - relax. For it knows that it faces a crisis of legitimacy, with large parts of society refusing to recognise Mr Ahmadi-Nejad as president....." (Source: http://www.ft.com, retrieved 7/1/09). This has already happened. I also view the comments by Ali Larijani as quite courageous. It will be quite interesting to see what happens during the confirmation hearings for the 10th Government later on this month. But, having subverted the Constitution and the rule of law, Khameini may well make the decision and circumvent the Parliament all together. This is not over by any means. It is just get started.
The West Wing is a the story of a fictional White House. This is a scene when the Chief of Staff interviews a Conservative Republican to join the staff:
The wrestling match in California's State Capitol continues. The Governor wants one thing, the legislature wants another thing. The Governor wants to add a third furlough day to what existing furloughs State Workers are having. So, in about three hours local time, the State of California will be officially broke and will have to send out Registered Warrants (IOU's). This has not been done since the Great Depression!!! How can a State workers who has already lost 9% pay for his mortgage and food for his family with IOU's? No one seems to have an answer to this simple question.
Mike Pouraryan
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