THE SKINNY

The United States is certainly the birthplace of modern democracy.

The Royal Navy is the vector that caused it to spread internationally.

Anytime we want to..................................

We can change everything in our government. Just forget all about political parties and vote for the guy all the way at the bottom of the ticket. Who cares if they are Socialist, Commies or Peruvian Nationalists? They will still be better than the endless parade of doppelgangers passed off as leaders, no less, by our "political parties", which are really just clubs for rich men and women.

Vote for the guy with the LOWEST campaign spending!

Vote for the guy that has a REAL job!

Vote for leaders, not issues or "parties".

Our loyalty is to the USA, not to any political party. Seems to me the best thing Americans can do right now is take the Government away from the Republicans AND the Democrats. Form a big-ass coalition in Congress, with a coalition Cabinet. Run the place like Italy for awhile. That oughtta knock some sense into our esteemed politicians.

~ R. Poure ~
~ New York ~

Afghanistan

The military coalition. led by US elements of course, begin an offensive this weekend in Helmand, the heart of the world's opium trade. Our enemies are a coalition also. Of Taliban and drug warlords. Slavers who take the local farmers, addicted to the tears of the poppy, and employ them in serfdom to fuel the coffers of tyranny disguised as fundamental Islam. Fundamental Islam. Now in my country and quite a few others for that matter, fundamental Islam manages to co-exist, in the same neighborhoods, with Orthodox Judaism, born-again Christians, Wiccans, pagans, Freemasons, Nazis and all the others, without daily warfare. In fact, violence for religious or ethnic reasons is rarer and rarer in diverse societies and in the US especially. Economic motivations on the other hand breed both strange bedfellows and bizarre feuds. This begs the conclusion that the mess in the Middle East, most specifically the Valentines Day Offensive, is motivated in the least by the Taliban and their desire to impose Islamic tyranny, but rather by the interests of those people who control and use the 70-90% of the world's HEROIN supply produced in Helmand. Certainly not to suggest that the Taliban are anything but a willing tool of evil men that care not about either Allah or Jesus. Men who are willing to pay the Taliban to run a government that will allow them to continue to produce a crop that is more valuable than all the gold in history. And as long as the Taliban rule the money continues to flow...............

In the 1950's at a place called Gereshk, the US Army Corps of Engineers built a dam that diverted water from the Helmand River and created the Boghra Canal. This is the irrigation project that allowed Helmand to become the major producer of Opium in the world. Perhaps shutting the dam and depriving the region of its agricultural ability is the only solution. While harsh and certainly not devoid of consequences to the 1.4 million residents of Helmand, this solution does in fact teach the broader lesson of responsibility. More simply, if the developed world makes a major investment in your agricultural infrastructure it is not a good idea to use it to grow the most deadly illicit drug on the Earth.

F. Lynn ~ Boston

NO APOLOGIES NEEDED

Y'know when you travel around the U.S. you don't see too many (any!) cemeteries of foreign war dead. Like German, Italian, Russian, or Polish cemeteries when those countries sent armies to help us in our times of trouble. Hmmmmmmmmm. Because no armies ever came. The French sent a Navy. Thanks. But travel around the world, especially Europe, and you will find numerous cemeteries of those Americans who died in foreign wars. And they were wars of liberation when humanity faced its darkest days and the expenditure of human life against perilous evil was considered blood well spent. So, to our European friends and allies and anyone else where American blood was spilled on behalf of others: No apologies for arrogance are in order. In fact, it is difficult to argue with success. In 1776 one country in the world was practicing functional democracy and respecting the individual rights of men. In 2009, three-quarters of the extant governments of the Earth are functional parliamentary democracies. It is not a perfect world and nations still act with self-interest. But it is undeniable progress when considered against most of the course of human history. So say thank you to the Founding Fathers and show a little respect.

Rick Poure
NYC Correspondent

 

 

The Swat Appeasement

 

That is what the history books will call it.

When Pakistan gave the Swat Valley to the Taliban in 2009.

History is not kind to appeasers.  The most recent and obvious example of WWII is oft stated and it is only the most recent.  In fact, in most cases where naked use of aggression is the option of the other side, than appeasement equals surrender.  The Romans and the Mongols both demonstrate this.  So shall Pakistan rue the day that it told the Taliban it would no longer fight them for Swat.

 

The Northwest frontier of Pakistan has long been an area disputed by the local tribes and the great powers.  There are many reasons, opium among them, also the violent politics of the region for the last two hundred years, which it may be safe to say is vividly recalled by the local inhabitants albeit somewhat forgotten by the rest of the world.  Why worry about world history when you can Twitter?

 

In 1898 a young Winston Churchill saw the publication of his first book,

The Story of the Malakand Field Force, An Episode of Frontier War,  which concerned none other than the activities of the British Army as they messed about in Northwest Pakistan. 

 

The Swat Valley.

 

  Of all places.

 

Look at Churchill’s description of the transfer of power in a principality in this region, “In 1892 [the ruler of Chitral] died, leaving many sons, all equally ferocious, ambitious, and unscrupulous. One of these, Afzal by name, though not the eldest or acknowledged heir, had the good fortune to be on the spot. He seized the reins of power, and having murdered as many of his brothers as he could catch, proclaimed himself Mehtar and invited the recognition of the Indian Government. He was acknowledged chief, as he seemed to be "a man of courage and determination, and his rule afforded a prospect of settled government. “  Apparently, not very much has changed.  Since the Taliban are the men “on the spot” and have the guns to back it up, Pakistan has decided that they can keep what they have.  Or keep what they can kill.   Maybe Riddick is an unusual moral comparison but MacBeth is not, and the Taliban are at best the moral equivalent  of the Necromongers or the Scot.  More than a few similarities I might add.

 

And now the Taliban have struck out from Swat.  Why not?  The Northwest frontier is and has always been a Pashtun nation.  Despite the trial and error methods of the British and the artificial Duran line, the people of this area clearly view themselves in a highly independent manner.  So much so that they are willing to cede personal liberty to religious fanatics who promise them glory.  Either in this world or the next.  The small cities of this area are arms factories with staggering capacities for the production of the AK-47.  Sure, Pakistan wants to use its Army fighting a civil war with these guys.   They are not worried anymore about the Indians in the Kashmir.   Right.  But it looks like they might not have a choice.  The most recent Taliban incursions are merely 60 miles from Pakistan’s capital.  Granted they have withdrawn.  To gather strength.  In, as the AP reports it, the “Swat stronghold.”

 

So here’s the reality Pakistan.  Renege on your deal with the Taliban and attack them with all your might right now.  They have no honor anyway and they consistently prove this.   Or they will fester and grow and then they will come for you. 

 

 

F. Lynn

Boston Correspondent

IRAN AND NORTH KOREA, AGAIN

 

So.  A big surprise.  Iran jails an American woman journalist for eight years in a kangaroo trial and North Korea arrests two American women journalists for investigation as spies.  These are our Mata Haris?  Come on.  I will bet that Iran uses the “pardoning” and accompanying deportation, of their prisoner by the Gangster Ahmadinejad as a political tool to build good will with the USA.  It is a set-up.  Not North Korea though.  They are just pushing our buttons in an utterly juvenile attempt at getting attention.  Those people conduct themselves with the intellectual stamina of a clam.  This is what happens when the Mafia takes over your country.  And unfortunately those types respond best to being put in a cage or just done away with.  History is full of the names, I won’t repeat them here.  But the other thing that history tells is that having patience with brutal and tyrannical despots and their oppressive regimes brings no good.  This is reality, not warmongering.  Winston Churchill knew that these things were true about tyrants.  So did Washington, Adams, etc.  How long do you think that those leaders would have put up with Kim shooting missiles anywhere near Japan?  Or Iran pretending they are not building a nuke?  Do you think that Israel believes them?

 

By the way.  The Iranian Navy has a whole bunch of fast little gun and missile boats stacked up right near the Strait of Hormuz.  How about helping out with those pirates?  Last I heard, the Caliphs didn’t approve of that stuff anymore than the King of England did.  Build some good will, act responsible.  Besides, blasting those Somali bastards to hell will be good practice.  Keep going the way you are and you will need it.

 

F. Lynn

Boston Correspondent

Simple Solutions Work Best

President Obama should instruct the United States Navy to conduct missile tests from the Sea of Japan across the Korean Peninsula, flying over North Korean territory and letting the warheads blow up in Korea Bay.

AMERICAN RESPONSIBILITY

Americans have the responsibility to bring democratic forms of government to all the people of the world.  The responsibility comes from whatever Deity may or may not exist.  Indeed, in God we do trust.  On a more secular plane, we bear the responsibility because we started It in the modern world.  It being the idea of government of the people, for the . . by the. . . etc.  It is also not enough to say that the existence of our type of freedom, predicated on the notion that all are created equal and consecrated with the blood of thousands, should be limited to our shores.  Instead we must view the spreading of liberal democracy as a human responsibility.  It’s pretty clearly established that the other ways result in petty or not so petty tyrants who rarely acknowledge the error of their ways and kill a few thousand or million of the rest of us along the way..  So far it seems the good guys are winning at this.  Three-quarters of the world's governments are today either a democracy of sorts or headed that way.  Even Libya.  And if we leave a functioning democracy in Iraq then shouldn’t that more than justify regime change?  And we can.  We have in Germany and Japan to name the two most successful ones.  And if others say we are wrong, it is not our business, by what right do we do these things then here is your answer.  If not we, then who?   Rogue nations like Iran and North Korea represent a threat to the rest of the peaceful world that we as Americans and the strongest military power in history just DO NOT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH.  They are dangerous lunatics.  Sure it will take time and treasure and blood.  And sure, we’d love some help.  But the world we leave behind will be far, far better.  Not to advocate all out war or mass mobilization.  But when we do act to take out a brutal despot lets not get all wishy-washy about whether this was right or wrong.  As human beings this is right to do.  When our fellow man is being institutionally brutalized, we must act.  If one has any decency at all then one should feel compelled.  The Holocaust occurred less than 100 years ago.  Kim starves his own people while he fantasizes about being an American movie star. Ahmadinejad postures like a gangster in his sport coat and open shirt,  reminding us of Pacino in Scarface!  These people expect us, our President, to show respect for them?  By our standards they are criminals.  Dangerous lunatics.  And please don’t tell us that you have a different culture, or that you have done it this way forever.  America has every race, creed, and ethnicity and for the most part we live in harmony and do it without imposing bizarre restrictions on women, brutally punishing minor offences by any humanistic standard, or espousing vitriolic hatred against other peoples who do not believe as we do.  The American form of government has given rise to individual freedom of the greatest capacity in history.  That is why we get to say that we are right and we know it.  Because we have results that can prove it.  Truth is an idea that works in practical experience.  Self-government results in peaceful nations that live in harmony.  We should be zealous in promulgating individual freedom because it is in the best interests of all people of the world if all people of the world govern themselves.

 

F. Lynn

 

Boston Correspondent

RANT

So North Korea wants us to give up our annual joint military exercise with South Korea because they fear an invasion.  What do they have that we want besides the USS Pueblo, our ship that they stole from us 40 years ago?  Come to think of it that’s not such a bad idea.  Maybe we should invade to get our ship back.  Strikes me that a country that starves its people, has the largest standing army in the world and has permitted a leader to develop the cult of personality in its most bizarre form as yet is suffering from a pretty strong lack of self-esteem.  I’d like to know how the leaders around the Kims for the last 50 years can have any shred of self-respect.  We should start the indictment process as war criminals against these scum now.  And yes, technically we are still at war with these lunatics who have devoured their own nation and people.  Lets lock a few of them up down in Cuba for awhile.  We’ve got room.  The audacity of a criminal regime dictating terms highhandedly to the US is flabbergasting.  Lob a few shells over the 38^th parallel and take out their missile facilities with a night stealth airstrike.  We pay a load of dollars for what should be the best military in the world.  Lets be smart about how we use it.  A pre-emptive strike, as our Israeli allies have conducted numerous times, diminishes or defeats a stated enemy’s ability to produce weapons of mass destruction or create real and present forms of danger to peaceful societies.  Say what you will about the Iraq war,  the world is still a better place without Saddam Hussein.  The North Korean regime must be made to pay severely for their horrific and cavalier attitude to the human rights of their own people and their brazen disregard for the issues the civilized nations of the world take them to task on.  I just pity the North Korean farmer/worker/slave.  No matter what happens they get screwed. 

F. Lynn

Boston Correspondent

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28735321/

 

Notes from the Big Apple

I was in Nanuet, New York some time ago on a sunny weekend and as I drove off the Palisides Interstate highway and came down the exit ramp to a traffic light, Diane and I were confronted with a fairly large anti-War demonstration in a large clearing on the diagonal opposite side of the road.  Everybody was chill and things were calm.  I didn’t notice any police.  Then our eyes were drawn to another large group directly across the road from where we waited at the light.  This group was a little larger and had an abundance of American flags displayed.  They represented the pro-War position under the banner of supporting our troops.  Both groups together represented the pinnacle of American Democracy.  They were blatantly expressing their opposing political viewpoints directly across the street from one another and ignoring each other at the same time.  Most scenes of such political expression around the world are accompanied by a minimum of rock-throwing, flag-burning and assorted mayhem of varying degree.

 

There are significant parallels between the development of political culture in South and Central America and the development of political culture in the Balkans and the Mediterranean as well as most of the Middle East where an individuals primary political loyalty was to tribe and locality, as there are significant parallels in those second and third world countries that were culturally influenced by western European countries where primary political loyalty lay first to a Prince and then later, to the nation that succeeded the Prince, rather than to the local authority, which was regarded as an extension of the national authority.  Those succeeding nations, notably the USA, Australia and Canada, encompass a larger national identity that is inclusive of numerous cultures.  Even in nations such as South Africa and India, where the clash of cultural development is significant, the democratic political principles of western influence and the national bonding accompanied by a common defense clearly indicate that the political progression of these nations is to the type of street corner democracy I saw in Nanuet.   Such is not the case in the Middle East and large parts of Asia and Africa.

 

So the real question is how do we get the rock-throwers throughout the world to stand on opposite street corners and ignore each other?

Rick Poure

New York City Correspondent

IRAN

Do we really have the luxury of finding out that Iran really isn’t lying like a dog while it feverishly works to create a nuclear weapon?  Don’t we believe that Iran is preparing for peaceful space exploration when they test seven ICBM’s simultaneously?  And then test more the next day.  Do we believe that history cannot repeat itself?  Are we as naïve and foolish as previous generations were when confronted with evil men pursuing evil goals of personal power and tyranny?  Do we believe these same men who consort with terrorists and still call the US a “great Satan”?  Lest we forget, these are the same “revolutionaries” who seized our embassy and kept our fellow Americans hostage.  Although for those of us fortunate enough to live in the byproduct of the American Revolution, applying the term revolutionary to these miscreants is deplorable.  Iran does not deserve to be treated like a nation in the company of other civilized countries.  She deserves to be treated as a rogue cur, rabid with the fever of zealotry masking the purpose of her tyrannical masters.  America should act now, in consort with her allies, even if that consists solely of Israel, to remove the Iranian potential for developing a nuclear weapon.  It is doubtful in the extreme that Iran will exercise the same restraint and judgment that the Cold War adversaries did when possessed of massive opposing arsenals.  It is more likely that Iran will convey these weapons into the hands of fundamentalist Islamic terrorists who will have no compunction about using them against American  cities.  The Middle East has been at war for a thousand years.  It’s not very likely that peace will break out anytime soon, rather with the present ilk of leaders in control things will probably get a lot worse.  A weak, indecisive United States of America will send a message of encouragement to those maleficent leaders that by their own definition are the enemies of our country, our allies and the peace of nations.     

    - F. Lynn, 

Boston Correspondent

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE