Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion

“New Realism: Crafting a US Foreign Policy for a New Century”
Governor Bill Richardson
Redacted from the Harvard International Review

US foreign policymakers face novel challenges in the 21st century. Jihadists
and environmental crises have replaced
armies and missiles as the greatest threats; globalization has eroded the significance of national borders. Many problems that were once national are now global, and dangers that once came only from states now come also from societies—not from hostile governments, but from hostile individuals or from impersonal social trends, such as the
consumption of fossil fuels. The piece does a credible job of laying out the problems before us and arguing that the Bush Administration has not taken the appropriate measures to deal with them.

The highlights of Richardson’s plans:

First and foremost, the United States must repair its alliances. US leaders also must restore commitment to international law and multilateral cooperation.

Promoting expansion of the UN Security Council’s permanent membership to include Japan, India, Germany, and one country each from Africa and Latin America.

Ethical reform at the United Nations so that this vital institution can help its many underdeveloped and destitute member states meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Expanding the G8 to include India and China.

The US government must join International Criminal Court and respect all international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions.”

On environmental issues, the United States must be the leader, not the laggard, in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by embracing the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, Lead the world with a man-on-the-moon effort to improve energy efficiency and to commercialize clean, alternative
technologies.

Stop considering diplomatic engagement with others as a reward for good behavior.

Various efforts including ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

The United States needs to start showing, both through its words and through its actions, that this is not, as the Jihadists claim, a clash of civilizations. Rather, it is a clash between civilization and barbarity.

Closing Guantanamo

The United States also needs to pressure Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other friends in the Arab world to reform their education systems, which are incubators of anti-US sentiment.

Spend more to develop first responders and to drastically improve public health facilities, which, five years after 9/11, are not ready for a biological attack.

The United States needs to lead the global fight against poverty, which is the basis of so much violence.

Encourage rich countries to honor UN Millennium goal commitments.

Lead donors on debt relief, shifting aid from loans to grants, and focus on primary health care and affordable vaccines.

Promote trade agreements, which create more jobs in all nations and which seriously address wage disparities, worker rights, and the environment.

Pressure pharmaceutical companies to allow expanded use of generic drugs, and encourage public-private partnerships to reduce costs and enhance access to anti-malarial drugs and bed nets.

Promote a multilateral Marshall Plan for the Middle East and North Africa.

__________________________________

I look forward to your comments.

They call it “The Curse of Machu Picchu”. Oh, of course the academics and the newspaper reporters who write about their “mainstream” so-called findings won’t use that term.

It doesn’t take an advanced degree in paleontological microbiology to see that something is rather fishy about the death of Gene Savoy, the archaeologist who made a career out of discovering ancient lost cities in Peru, at sites such as Gran Pajaten, Gran Saposoa and Gran Vilaya.

Notice something in common about these ancient lost cities? They all begin with the word “Gran”, which my sources tell me is the ancient Incan word for “curse”.

So we come to the Curse of Machu Picchu. True, Gene Savoy did not discover Machu Picchu, but he did go there after it was discovered, and was linked with the original explorer of Machu Picchu, contaminated with a form of curse-by-association that locals call “appacaboyo”.

Too bad for Mr. Savoy that he never stopped to consider that the lost cities of the Incas were lost for a reason. Savoy’s son, who denies the rumors of a curse, admits that his father befell many disasters while attempting to unearth that which the tropical rainforests had reclaimed.

Gene Savoy contracted deadly diseases, was bitten by poisonous snakes, and chased by angry indigenous soldiers, all while working to uncover the secret cities of darkest Peru. Now, Gene Savoy has died.

Coincidence? If you believe that, I’ve got a lost city in Peru to sell you at a rock bottom price.

Here is the full text of George W. Bush’s Executive Order of September 12, 2007:

“Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks

Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York, the Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines flight 93, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.

Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, last extended on September 5, 2006, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2007. Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, with respect to the terrorist threat.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

GEORGE W. BUSH ”

Nearly all of George W. Bush’s presidency has been a national emergency. There’s really nothing else to say, is there?

What kind of Republican values are these, that when one Republican brings out a valid criticism of another Republican, the critical Republican gets censored?

This week, a web site critical of Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign was shut down, so as to avoid upsetting the Republican orthodoxy. Apparently, Republican Party leaders did not want to allow any criticism of Fred Thompson, even valid criticism, on the off chance that Fred Thompson could become the Republican presidential nominee.

PhoneyFred.org, created by a Republican, pointed out the obvious: Fred Thompson’s record of one and half terms in the United States Senator was sadly mediocre. The site’s creator wrote, “You’re probably in the same boat: You can’t get the theme to ‘Law and Order’ out of your head, but can you name one thing that Fred did during his eight years in the United States Senate?”

Fred Thompson was not competent enough to do much in the Senate, and he isn’t competent to serve as President of the United States. Unfortunately, the Republican Party wants its followers to pretend not to see this obvious truth. They’re willing to sacrifice honesty for the sake of power.

PhoneyFred.org is now offline. The truth is still the truth.

The weekend before the attack, I was working, as usual, for one of New York’s mega-law firms on the 59th floor of the North Tower. I have no particular memory of that weekend. It was uneventful. Probably, at some point, I wandered around alone on one of the four floors that the firm occupied and availed myself of the view. I left work on Monday morning, at about 7:30 AM.

Next day, Tuesday, I got up to go to a 12-step meeting that was a few blocks south of the World Trade Center. The meeting, which was my home group at the time, met from 7:30 to 8:30. Usually, from there, I went to my current job, which was teaching ESL at a private school about a mile north of the Twin Towers. However, my hours had been cut, so I wasn’t going to work. So, my wife argued with me about the meeting, and I ended up not going.

Shortly after 9:00 AM, a friend of my wife’s called her to tell us a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I think she said “a small business jet.” I was concerned but not overly upset. During WWII, a fighter-bomber had hit the Empire State Building. I turned on the TV, and it was immediately obvious that this was no small plane. Shortly after, my wife and I went outside to the nearest street corner, which was line-of-sight to the towers. Along with hundreds of neighbors, we watched the huge plume of smoke for a few minutes, and then we went back inside. On TV I saw the second plane hit, and immediately realized that this was some kind of a terrorist attack. We went out again to watch but nothing much could be seen because of the smoke.

A few minutes later, on TV, I saw the South Tower fall. I refused to believe my eyes. We went out again and I swore I could see the tower hidden in the smoke. We went back inside and saw the North Tower fall. We went back outside. Soon, we were aware of crowds of people walking north away from the site, covered with dust. It took us a moment to realize that these were people fleeing the disaster. At one point my wife and I helped a tall, well-dressed old man, in his seventies, who stumbled and almost fell in front of us. As we caught him, he sobbed: “I feel so guilty!”

The next few hours were a nightmare of police cars, fire trucks, helicopters, etc. The fall of the towers was played over the air over and over again. At one point, my wife and I walked over to the local hospital, St. Vincents, with the idea of giving blood. There was already a huge line. Standing by the emergency room entrance were several dozen teams of paramedics, nurses and doctors, each with a gurney, ready to receive the survivors who never came. I could see the pain and fear on their faces as they stood there with those empty gurneys. We went home after awhile.

In the late afternoon, I determined to volunteer to help. I walked along the West Side Highway along with a bunch of construction workers who had been working on a building site in mid-town. We went through several lines of police to reach a location about a quarter mile north of WTC 7, which was still in flames. At that point, there were thousands of people milling around: local residents, people like myself who wanted to help and construction workers, paramedics, etc., who had genuinely useful skills.

After awhile, it was evident to me that there was nothing I could do personally. I watched WTC 7 being slowly engulfed in flames. It was obvious it was going to fall soon. I’m not a morbid type, so I walked home slowly as it got dark. I passed through Greenwich Village as I walked. The bars were full, but I was amazed that some people seemed to be relatively calm. As I walked though my neighborhood, Chelsea, people were already setting up the little shrines with candles that were all over the City for the next few months.

At home, my wife watched the videos of the towers falling and the streets filled with debris over and over. After awhile, I stopped watching. We eventually fell asleep at some point early in the morning. It was a bad day: a very bad day.

So, Osama Bin Laden, who once was regarded as a terrifying threat to American lives but now seems more like an over-the-hill late night talk show host, has released a new video.  No dancing in it, shamefully.

In his new video, Bin Laden suggests that if America wants the Iraq War to be over, Americans should just convert to fundamentalist Islam.

Well, it’s a start.  I’m glad that Osama Bin Laden is willing to negotiate.

Here’s my counter offer, then.  I will consider converting to fundamentalist Islam if Osama Bin Laden converts to Buddhism first, as a good will gesture, just to show that people are all willing to change.  In order to help Osama Bin Laden feel confident in converting to Buddhism, I’m asking the Dalai Lama to become a Wiccan.  After all, everyone knows that there isn’t enough room in Nirvana for the Dalai Lama and Osama Bin Laden both.

A wave rising up
establishes its descent
even as it swells.

I was at an ice cream shop yesterday evening, buying a scoop of ice cream for my son after his first day at school. As I was standing in line, I saw a a row of boxes on the shelf next to me, with a label that read “Traditional Crepe Mix”.

Some people may be too removed from their rural roots to remember the days when the folk would work in the fields by day, and come home at dusk with baskets full of their traditional crepe mixes, to use for the following week’s breakfasts.

Where has that tradition gone? Don’t leave the old ways behind. Show your traditional values. Go buy a crepe mix.

Category Five means catastrophic. Hurricane became a Category Five hurricane overnight. That’s the second Category Five hurricane in the Caribbean this year. Think Hurricane Katrina, only it’s Central America that’s being devastated instead of New Orleans. Honduras and Belize are getting the brunt of this one, and will the Yucatan be ravaged yet again?

A link that we all should become familiar with: The National Hurricane Center.

I’m putting this short video up tonight so that people can hear for themselves how Tucker Carlson bragged about slamming a gay man’s head against the wall. It includes the audio of Tucker Carlson speaking.