Thoughts for a Wednesday

Grrr...I am so mad at my computer.  I was in the middle of composing my post when inevitably some error occurred that wiped out some of my thoughts!! The nerve....so apologies if this isn't a very good post - blame it on my pc...

But life must go on I suppose, so without further ado, here are some thoughts for this week's edition of Thoughts for a Wednesday.

1 - April 13th!  That's the date that Deadliest Catch premieres!  I am so excited, though very sad because one of the main captains, Captain Phil Harris, passed away during the filming of this season.  It is one of those rare times that a reality show becomes actually real.  Maybe that is why I love this show so much - its authenticity versus the stories that other "reality" shows can create through careful editing.

2 - While I am talking about TV shows, I have to mention Lost and how I can't believe that there are only 6 episodes left.  That seems so unreal to me.  Will we ever figure out who is good and who is evil?  Will there be any concrete answers given to us, the ones loyal enough to stay with this show through all the mysteries and questions because we knew that an ending would come?  Or are we being set up for a non-ending, something along the lines of Sayid "I don't feel anything...", no more pain or joy or anger at the mysteries of the show, but just numbed to oblivion by all the ones left unanswered?

3 - And also I just want to give a shout out to "Kell on Earth", the reality TV show that just concluded on Bravo based upon Kelly Cutrone and her business, People's Revolution.  I think you either love or hate Kelly.  I happen to be in the camp that really likes her (to be honest, I have to admit that I have loved her ever since her appearance on "The Hills" - she was one of the best things about that show with her no bs attitude).  She really is a remarkable businesswoman, with an amazing combination of both vision and implementation, which has made her very successful.

4 - Speaking of women and business, I just recently finished reading this book called Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids, and Life in a Half-Changed World.  I read it on recommendation from my two best friends, and it really was a mind-bender.  I'll save my review for another post, but suffice to say that it made me think a lot about the life decisions that I face as a woman in my late twenties, approaching thirties.

5 - So in other news, I have started another blog, this one dedicated to all things style and fashion and my thoughts and outfits that I choose to post.   I've just been reading too many of these fashion blogs for my own good, because obviously they have inspired me to start my own.  So come stop by Small Time Style when you get a chance and leave a comment or two or become a follower if you'd like!  Any and all suggestions for posts are more than welcome!

6 - I am Number 4 in my office NCAA tourney pool and the ONLY one to have picked Duke to win the championship.  SO I potentially have a shot at emerging as the winner of the office pool.  It is an admittedly loooonggg shot, but it's as close as I've ever gotten in my office pool (with the exception of winning the first round of picks one year) and would mark the second time in my life that I would win in my pool!  If you hear a loud shout of "WAHOO" come next Monday, my apologies in advance.

7 - It seemed as if I blinked and Easter is already this weekend!  Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and one of the traditions of the Catholic Church is that every Palm Sunday we read the Passion of Christ.  The congregation participates in the actual reading, which is always poignant for me, for it reminds me that I too was one of the crowd yelling "Crucify him!" to Pilate when he wanted to release Jesus.  It happened that I was just finishing the book of Mark at the same time and so read the Passion again the next morning.  This time in reading it, I was struck at how easily Pilate gives in to the crowd.  I know that Jesus's purpose for taking on human form was to bring us salvation, but it struck me that Pilate could have not given in to the demands of the Pharisees and others who wanted to kill Jesus.  Pilate could have stepped in and saved an innocent man - he KNEW that Jesus was innocent - and yet he washes his hands, saying that Jesus's blood is on the Jews.  His indifference to an innocent man's fate and willingness to give in to a crowd just makes me wonder about myself and the world that I live in.  Would I be willing to save an innocent man even if it went against everyone's wishes?

8 - Lots of thoughts this Wednesday!  One more for today - if you've been reading this blog for any length of time at all, you know that from time to time I like to give my thoughts on foreign affairs and various international relations.  The recent wave of suicide bombings in Russia have me concerned and wondering how Russia's reaction to these latest bombings is going to affect the greater world balance and what actions they are going to take to stop "the terrorists".  But this is a case of journalists choosing words - are these suicide bombers terrorists or are they Chechen freedom fighters?  Separatists longing for their own freedom and territory or people bent on inflicting destruction on others for no good reason?  Check out Kevin Sites' video on Chechnya that he filmed while on his "In the Hot Zone" documentary and then form your thoughts.

And that's it folks!  Coming soon, a book review on Flux and maybe a couple other pictures that I snapped last week.  And who knows - maybe I'll have some thoughts on another day than just Wednesday!

Georgia, Part Deux

I know that I may sound like a crazy person to keep bringing this up, but the Georgia-Russia conflict took another step yesterday when hackers brought down the entire Twitter network, caused Facebook disruptions and attacked the Blogger interface all in the name of silencing ONE individual who communicates on the web in favor of Georgia. (See story here).

This really disturbs me. Who else sees scenes from a Hollywood movie in which mass chaos is created because network communication systems are brought down? The fact that an entire communicative site was brought down because of 1 individual blogger who is trying to make his voice heard - that's scary and brings this conflict to a whole new level now.

Seriously - don't underestimate/write-off Russia (Joe Biden).

Realpolitik

Today marks the anniversary in which President Nixon announced that he would visit communist China. It was a landmark event in the history of US foreign policy and it embodied a foreign policy worldview, first coined by Henry Kissinger (Secretary of State at the time), as "realpolitik".

Realpolitik basically says (definition courtesy of The History Channel), that this is a policy of "politics that favored dealing with other powerful nations in a practical manner rather than on the basis of political doctrine or ethics". Take a minute to digest that.

This opened the way for the US to enter into economic relations with China and change the free-market as we know it, flooding it with a myriad of cheaper manufactured goods - despite the human rights' atrocities that occur daily (Tibet, or the most recent Uighur protests and violence). It also currently allows us to turn a blind eye on human rights' atrocities occurring in Russia (check out this article and remember the situation with Georgia last summer). Other examples of realpolitik? How about turning a blind eye on Rwanda (not a powerful enough nation to warrant our attention), or not mentioning anything when former General Musharraf gained power by virtue of a coup (and then becoming our "ally" when we invaded Afghanistan in 2002?). How about continuing to support Israel, even as it demolishes Palestinian neighborhoods and builds a literal wall around the West Bank? How about supporting Saudi Arabia as it promotes radical, fundamental Wahhabi Islam, denigrates its female population, and employs migrant Indian workers (who are no better than indentured servants) while the entire population lives off royalties from oil?

Realpolitik allows the US to turn a blind eye on many things, allowing practicality and logic to dictate foreign policy. But the question has got to be, is this a good thing?

I truly don't know. I don't know when a state on the scale of the United States should step into conflicts and try to help the situation. Do you try to help a failed state like Somalia and risk another Black Hawk Down occurring? Do you go against the political power and money of the Jewish lobby and say that no, we will not support Israel's tactics against Palestine? Do you try to stop genocide occurring in Sudan? Do you confront an economic and military powerhouse like China about it's human rights violations that it flaunts in front of us? Do you rescue North Koreans from an insane dictator that is hellbent on starving his people before he launches a nuclear missile? What dictates a state's foreign policy? Economics? Or ethics? Sell your soul or be guided by principles? Can it be both? Or should it be neither?

What do you think? What should the role of a state like the US be in the realm of world politics? Isolate itself so that we do not "meddle" in the affairs of other states and do nothing; help ethnic minorities throw off the restrictions of a dictatorship so that they might have a chance at the basic human right of freedom; rescue those suffering from gross human rights' injustices; or follow a combination of economic-ethical policies that allow us to turn a blind eye on some things, but not others?

It's not an easy answer.

Keep an Eye on That Bear...

Think Russia is done rattling it's sword?

Think again.

And, ps, United Nations - you are stunningly quiet on this situation. Why not do something here instead of passing meaningless resolutions on a perennial conflict? You yet again prove your futility.

Follow Up to Georgia Situation

The Russia-Georgia-US-West situation (see previous post, The Guns of August) continues to escalate and now Venezuela is getting into the mix. The most poignant part of the linked story is the fact that two Russian military planes conducted exercises in Venezuela. Not good people!!

So in between the stories that people are fascinated with like Hurricane Ike, the VMAs, Obama, and Sarah Palin, I really hope and wish that this situation would be treated more seriously and with more tact in the diplomatic realm than it currently is being treated with. Russia is not to be taken lightly!

The Guns of August - Literally

"History is a vast early warning system" ~ Norman Cousins

This is one of my favorite quotes because of the truth that it belies. History is a vast early warning system and it would ease my worries and fears if I truly believed that the people who were in power understood this concept. But the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia this month, coupled with the signing of a missile defense treaty by Poland and the United States yesterday, has me questioning if we are going to see the eruption of another European war, if not another World War.

Why would I think that the conflict between Georgia and Russia could erupt into something broader and more deadly, especially with a ceasefire in place that is supposed to go into effect tomorrow? Because of a little book I read ages ago called The Guns of August by Barbra Tuchman, which is about the start of the First World War. This book succintly relates the story of how escalating tensions, state and ethnic nationalistic pride, and state alliances, all combined to begin "The Great War", who's affect we still see in events today. The stubborn attitudes of the leaders in power resulted in one of the most horrifying events in history and wiped out a generation of people - all because of...what? Was it for freedom? Was it to spread "democracy"? It was for territorial gains, for world supremacy, for dominion of one state over another, or the survival of a state against the forces of other states.

This very thing is what I see in this conflict between Georgia and Russia - and Georgia's ties to the West are a problem. Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia is so eerily similar to Austria's invasion of Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Franz Fernindand, and Russia's response is practically the same - they went to the aid of Serb, just as they went to "aid" the South Ossetians. However, in this, I fear the South Ossetians and the other separtist region, Abkhazia, will be getting more than they bargained for. For there is also the history of the Cold War to contend with and Russia's history of invading and staying in territories - Chechnya, anyone? And Russia's response to these conflicts are brutal and without mercy.

Our eyes have long been focused on Iraq and most have forgotten about Afghanistan, though we still have troops there and the conflict in that region continues to escalate. We have been consumed, since the fall of the USSR, with the MidEast and the conflicts there, turning our eyes away from Russia and letting it basically consume itself with corruption and power. Sure there have been news reports here and there, but I believe the recent events in Eastern Europe are a genuine cause for concern and need to be dealt with seriously. And that also scares me - the almost flippant attitude that the West, and particularly, the United States, has toward this. There is a lot at stake - Russian-Chinese ties are pretty strong and yet China has embraced free market capitalism with a vengenance, tying it extremely close to the United States - a lot of tension could be caused. Russia's willingness to place weapons into the hands of states and organizations who really shouldn't have them is also a concern. There are many more factors that give me cause for concern and they are all interwoven into a tangled web of economics and state politics.

Ultimately, I hope my concern is baseless and the conflict will go away and we all can resume our obsession with the next addition to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's multicultural family. But till then, I will be educating myself and watching this conflict with much interest - I can only hope our leaders will do the same.

Some links to other stories from different newsites:

BBC Coverage

ABC News Coverage

Yahoo News Coverage

Another BBC story...