In Memory of Jack Layton

Jack Layton, 1950-2011.

Jack Layton was only a man.  That is clear.  But he was a very rare sort of man, and a very rare sort of politician.  He was sincere in a way that few in his profession ever are.  He was optimistic and forward-looking.  He was a man who garnered the respect of his political opponents in a way that would be nearly unfathomable in America.  (Indeed, it was nearly unfathomable in Canada.)

But sadly, he was indeed only a man.  Mortal.  His death on Monday may not have been a shock in light of his long-running battle with cancer, but it was depressing nonetheless.  And now we are left to reflect on what is missing from the world as a result.

Koreablog

From the most recent fizzled flashpoint in November 2010.

It is once again the most wonderful time of the year:

The US and South Korea have begun a joint military drill to improve combat readiness on the Korean peninsula.  The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise brings together 530,000 forces in Korea and abroad, using computer programmes to simulate war situations.  North Korea has reacted furiously to the exercises, which run for 10 days.

For the uninitiated, this happens every year in August or September and has for decades, although the name of the exercise has changed.  Every year, South Korea and the United States perform large-scale exercises.  Every year, North Korea responds like a seven-year-old would.  Is this year any different, or is there something else here?

Why Perry Is Dangerous (And Also a Nut)

The rare Texan Loon (R-TX) in his natural habitat.

There has been a lot of concern about Rick Perry as of late.  Most of this centers around the prayer rally he hosted just prior to announcing his candidacy.  There was commentary on this from all the places you'd expect.  There was also some from places you might not, too. 

Perry's religious views and religious grandstanding, though, are less of a big deal than other things.  What is a big deal is his idea of how government works, and how America should be run.  To put it simply: Gov. Perry might believe in a thing called "The United States of America".  But it seems evident that he doesn't believe in a United States of America.  It is a key distinction, and one with major consequences.

Insurgencyblog

The remains of a police station struck by the FARC in Colombia.

I know we've been quiet for a few days here at the Mob, but sometimes we find that there's nothing much new to say about anything; either there's no real new news, or everyone else has already said what we would want to say.  It can happen to anyone.  And sometimes what you need when that happens is to just dig a little.

So in the process of that digging, I turned up this.  It seems like the FARC in Colombia is starting to be a big problem again.  And that opens things up for some discussion of why insurgent/terrorist/militia groups are able to remain in existence for so long in some places, and how nations often fail to combat them well.

Standard & Very, Very Poor

Over the weekend, and into today, there has been much sound and fury about Standard and Poor's downgrade of the United States' credit rating to AA.  Unfortunately for S&P (or fortunately for the rest of us), it turns out that it is signifying nothing.  It is now left to the rest of us to wonder: what is happening here, what does it mean for us, and what does it mean for S&P?

Things Fall Apart

We've covered the protests and crackdown in Syria before, of course.  But things are quickly escalating well past where they were last week.  Things have gotten worse in a hurry, it seems.  So it's recap time.

I Have To Talk About the Debt Ceiling Again, Don't I

And yet, unfortunately, this is more than likely not even close to the end:

House Republicans on Friday narrowly approved legislation authorizing a limited increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit in exchange for more than $900 billion in spending cuts.  The 218-210 vote occurred nearly a full day after it was originally scheduled as Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) agreed to revise the legislation to win enough conservative support to carry the House.

I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire: Part 1

It is not uncommon to hear Americans complain about the United Nations (UN) and the participation of the U.S within it. These critics, very often, simply don’t get it.  They don’t understand the reasons why the UN was created and what the goals of the institution are, and it is vital to understand those reasons in order to understand the United Nations.  

Meanwhile...

Is anyone paying attention to Syria anymore?  I mean, I know that the debtpocalypse is approaching, and Libya is much more high-profile, but is anyone paying attention to Syria?

Because you should.

Twenty-Five Reasons Why I’m Not in the Tea Party

1.     I enjoy roads.

2.     I know how to read and write because a public school taught me.

3.     I can spell.

4.     I want the government to inspect my food so it doesn’t kill me, make me sick, or turn me into a zombie.

5.     When I’m old, I’d like to be able to afford to go to the doctor, and I want other elderly people to be able to do the same.

Lost Transcript of Rep. Boehner's Actual Speech

Good evening.  I’m John Boehner, and you may remember me as the most orange man in America.  I serve as Speaker of the whole House – of the members of both parties that you elect – but I try to pretend the Democratic members don’t exist.  These are difficult times in the life of our nation, which is at least half the fault of my inability to deal with the raving psychos that inhabit my party.   

Hysteria

Now that there is some time and space between the present and the recent Oslo attacks, it's worth revisiting some things and trying to figure out what we can learn.  Why did Anders Breivik do what he did?  What are the ramifications?  I think it's important to start out by saying that this was without a doubt an act of terrorism, of course.  But what does that mean, in this case?

Oslo

Here's a story I can't be sarcastic about:

A massive bomb blast has hit government buildings in the Norwegian capital Oslo, killing at least seven people and injuring several others.

Default! A Movie Review by The Liberal Mob

In any sense, Default is a success of the documentary form.  With its focus on the stories of various individuals burdened by student loan debt, Default brings the worries of all college students to life and presents a powerful argument for reform of the private student loan system.  Despite the quite depressing nature of many of the subjects’ stories, the film also gives hope for reform and change.

Is This What Accountability Looks Like?

The recent cluster of testimony by the Murdochs in front of Parliament is, well...very funny.  Both weird funny and ha-ha funny, I guess:

Rupert Murdoch has said he cannot be held responsible for the scandal at the News of the World, saying he was let down by "people I trusted".

Obligatory News of the World Post

Hmmm.

Well now.  This is interesting.  Yes.  Very interesting:

Sean Hoare, the former News of the World showbusiness reporter who was the first named journalist to allege that Andy Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, has been found dead .

Balance This!

So I'm watching Meet The Press today and listening to Jim DeMint (R-SC) blather on about his truly idiotic balanced budget amendment that he's been championing for a while now.  After I stopped laughing, it occurred to me that maybe, not everyone realizes why it's a stupid idea, even if it is exceedingly inane.  What does the balanced budget amendment actually do, and why is it stupid?

Musings on Regime Change

In light of the recent recognition of the Libyan transitional government by the United States and others, we are presented with an excellent opportunity to reflect on the Arab Spring and United States policy towards the Middle East-Northern Africa region. The last six months have seen perhaps the most widespread and significant political change in the entire Middle East-Northern Africa region since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The world has seen successful, non-violent democratic movements take hold in Egypt and Tunisia, popular uprisings in Libya and Syria, and protests of various sorts all across the region from Algeria to Bahrain to even Jordan.

Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do

Apologies to Lost's John Locke, but that was my first reaction upon reading this via the BBC:

"China has complained about US President Barack Obama's scheduled meeting on Saturday with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama".

Excuse me?

Strange Deficit Magic

With all of this debt ceiling shenanigans going on, and all the hemming and hawing about the deficit, it's worth it to take a look at how all of this stuff actually functions.  What does it mean, really?  Why do we care?  How many angels can dance upon the head of a pin, and so on?  I've been thinking about it a lot recently (taking time away from more important things, like the NHL offseason).  Today though, I read this post by Yglesias which put a lot of what I was trying to say into shape...