June 15, 2006

What would Jesus play?

As a one-time Colorado Rockies fan, I was surprised to learn that in recent years the team has been making a concerted effort to hire players and managers with character. What kind of character? The kind based on Christian values.

The focus on religion starts at the top with CEO Charlie Monfort, who was a notorious partier and drinker until a few years ago when he converted to Christianity, which now influences every aspect of his life. Stop me if you've heard this one before.

But it isn't just the owner and the management. It's the players, too. "Quotes from Scripture are posted in the weight room. Chapel service is packed on Sundays. Prayer and fellowship groups each Tuesday are well-attended. It's not unusual for the front office executives to pray together," according to the USA Today article.

"I don't want to offend anyone, but I think character-wise we're stronger than anyone in baseball. Christians, and what they've endured, are some of the strongest people in baseball. I believe God sends signs, and we're seeing those," Monfort says.

Does God send signs through baseball? The Rockies seem to think so. And they think by being the only Christian-focused team in the league, good things will happen. Considering they haven't made the playoffs in 11 years, they need all the help they can get.

Hat tip: Phronesisaical

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 02:04 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Don't be evil

Google weighs in on Net Neutrality:

In the next few days, the House of Representatives is going to vote on a bill that would fundamentally alter the Internet. That bill, and one that may come up for a key vote in the Senate in the next few weeks, would give the big phone and cable companies the power to pick and choose what you will be able to see and do on the Internet.

The phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all Internet access, want the power to choose who gets access to high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest. They want to build a two-tiered system and block the on-ramps for those who can't pay.

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 09:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 14, 2006

Remember Afghanistan?

That's the question some attentive journalist takes a break from round-the-clock Iraq coverage to ask every few months. This time it's Mitchell Prothero at Salon. His article was sparked by the recent U.S. army truck accident that killed several civilians and led to widespread rioting and U.S. troops allegedly firing on civilians.

Last night the RNC chairman told Jon Stewart about the importance of staying in Iraq until we can leave it in a strong, stable condition. But Afghanistan becomes more unstable everyday and seems to be completely forgotten by the American public and the administration. Afghans increasingly view foreign troops, as well as aid workers, as occupiers. But it is not the mere presence of troops that angers the people, it is the fact that the international community has not fulfilled the promises of rebuilding the country it made after the 2001 invasion, Prothero reports. The international community is in Afghanistan, but it is not improving the situation and many are losing hope.

"We are not asking for miracles, only a plan. If the poorest people in Afghanistan -- take Ghowr Province -– hear Kabul is improving, they won't expect a good life but they'll have hope. When they hear Kabul is not improved in security or economy from the Taliban they will give up hope, because if you can't improve here..." one Afghan said in the article.

And perhaps even more so than the foreign troops, Afghans are growing impatient in Karzai, which could have disasterous consequences down the road as the Taliban insurgents gain more power.

"Afghanistan now faces a worst-case scenario no one could even imagine a year ago ... Karzai could become so weak that he invites more and more Taliban elements into the government and sparks a civil war with the Tajiks. The other scenario is that devout Tajiks, who would never work with the Taliban, join with Guliban Hekmaytar, the one-time Taliban enemy who has become a fierce opponent of the U.S. occupation."

Why does this matter? History. After the Soviets and U.S-backed mujahadeen spent several years fighting and destroying the nation's infrastructure, both world superpowers involved virtually forgot about Afghanistan, leading to a civil war and years of instability that led to the rise of the Taliban. One could argue that if the foreign policy at the time hadn't been so short sighted, if Afghanistan had been rebuilt and stabilized, Bin Laden wouldn't have had a refuge in the years leading up to 9/11. Who knows what that could have prevented?

Yet, history repeats itself. Troops and resources have been diverted to Iraq, and Bush's popularity rises and falls in large part due to his failures in Iraq, not Afghanistan. The stage has been set for the Taliban or a similar government to again take the control down the road. The American people may judge Bush's presidency by whether he succeeds or fails in Iraq, but history may place a little more emphasis on the forgotten country.

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 09:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 13, 2006

Scenario

As the White House comes under fire for the "domestic spy program" of monitoring calls, its defenders justify the program by claiming the only calls truely monitored are those to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's a scenario that they would likely defend:

I'm a U.S. citizen, born and raised, with family in Afghanistan. If I place a call to the country to speak with members of my immediately family, there's a decent chance that the government could monitor my call.

Doesn't that violate my constitutional rights as a citizen? Can anyone legitimately defend that?

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 11:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

June 07, 2006

Heh

From Yahoo News:

A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal's enclosure, a zoo official said on Monday.

"The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said.

"A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 10:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 22, 2006

Addressing Corruption in Russia

Unfortunately for many post-Soviet style countries, corruption has embedded itself deep into society, and has continued to influence all spheres of life. Democracy did not solve this problem, but rather turned the patronage system into an electable charity. Vladmir Putin, fresh off a state of the union address that championed domestic reform with not so subtle warnings to America, has promised recently to address the corruption that plagues the Russian bureaucracy. Pavel K. Baev writes:

Continue reading "Addressing Corruption in Russia"

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May 18, 2006

Looking to the midterms: Shoring up the base

Bush’s recent actions on immigration have been linked by many to his need to shore up his support among his strict conservative base. Some have pointed out that with his horrendous approval ratings, Bush’s only feasible goal for the rest of 2006 is to take actions in support of Republicans in Congress to help their reelection campaigns. I think this is a good argument and one which applies not only to the domestic issues, but also international ones as well. For example:

Continue reading "Looking to the midterms: Shoring up the base"

Posted by Potter at 06:26 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

May 16, 2006

Is this what the immigration debate is really about?

I just heard this on The Colbert Report and had to look it up for myself. Last week, John Gibson on Fox News said this:

"...half the kids under 5 years old in this country are minorities. By far, the greatest number are Hispanic. Know what that means? Twenty-five years and the majority population is Hispanic ... To put it bluntly: We need more babies."

It's hard to look at this as anything other than not-too-subtle racism. Is this what people are really worried about when they talk about the illegal immigration and securing the borders?

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 08:48 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Is immigration the gay marriage of 2006?

Remember 2004? You know, the last election year. Remember how half the country was afraid gays getting married was on the verge of sending the country spiraling down a path of ruin? It was mentioned in every political speech. Legislation was enacted. People protested.

How often do you hear about it now? In Massachusetts, where gay marriage was legalized, a few conservative protestors are still fighting to ban it, but other than that, it has virtually disappeared off the radar. It was a hot button topic for one year, designed to get socially conservative voters to the poll to help Bush win the election.

And it worked brilliantly.

But is the current immigration debate the same kind of election-year hot button issue? Maybe. Just like gay marriage, the "immigration problem" is a scare tactic that feeds off masked discrimination and separatism. However, Bush et al probably won't have the same success with this issue as with the last. Aside from militarizing the border with 6,000 national guard troops, his plan was fairly moderate and reasonable, in part because of his stint as governor of a border state.

And as phronesisaical points out, Bush's immigration speech isn't going over well with hardline conservatives.

Posted by Elyas Bakhtiari at 07:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 08, 2006

Victims of Their Own Vote

In an ideal world, economic sanctions against a country culpable of having a malicious leader or government promote grassroots change. The short version scenario is those responsible for the existence of sanctions, such as Saddam Hussein during the 1990's or Hamas currently in Palestine, will be 'starved' out of office by being unable to provide basic amenities to its constituency. The idea is that food, medicine, and jobs will be so uncertain that public desperation will facilitate regime change, either peaceful or violent.

However, idealism falls on its heels as the opposite often occurs: the Regime is not seen as the harbinger of poverty, but the victim of it. In the end, extreme poverty fosters a counter-productive extremist reaction in citizens: a disdain for those carrying out sanctions and sympathy for the government, consequently consolidating power instead of destabilizing it.

The current situation in Palestine reflects this reality. Hamas has existed as a militant Islamic organization since 1987 and recently won democratic elections in Palestine. The accepted but ill-perceived position in the West, perpetuated by pro-Israeli Think Tanks such as the Washington Institute (for evidence, read this report following the Palestinian elections), is that a terrorist organization was elected for being terrorist. In reality, Hamas was elected in a primarily two-party state (Fatah being the other legitimate party), not for it's positions towards Israel, but for not being corrupt and hopefully being able to provide basic services Fatah failed to provide.

The situation has escalated since money from the United States, European Union, and the UN have dwindled to pay for government salaries and food and medical supplies. The New York Times covers the despair in Gaza in

Already, says Al Shifa's general director, Dr. Ibrahim al-Habbash, the hospital can no longer provide chemotherapy for many forms of cancer, has only a few days' supply of important surgical drugs like atropine, adrenaline, heparin and lidocaine, and has used up its strategic three-month cache normally kept for a health crisis.

..."We've suffered in the past, of course, but in the last month, the problems have really increased," Dr. Habbash said. "There are shortages of medications and disposables in all departments, we're trying to limit the operating list and people are suffering, even dying, because of these shortages."

But his anger is a sign of the mounting frustration over the gaps in health care here, which are a result of a double crisis: the budget deficit in the Palestinian Authority — which has worsened significantly since Israel stopped transferring tax collections, and the United States and the European Union cut off aid after the Hamas government took over — and the inability to get goods into Gaza through the main crossing point at Karni, which the Israelis keep closing whenever there is a security alert.

But the victims of the sanctions that have denied them even the most simple health care do not reflect their anger at Hamas or the extremism that may be part author of these problems:

"I borrow from friends and have no more credit at the grocery store," Mr. Siam said. "Unfortunately, the whole world has chosen to punish us for our vote for Hamas. And I also blame everyone who calls himself a Muslim and who does not help us."

...In the dialysis ward of Shifa Hospital, Ahmed Shabat, 51, sits in fraying clothes. He must come every other day. "This is my work," he says, then shows the swollen veins on his arms caused by a lack of mineral supplements normally provided. "What is the relationship between humanitarian and political aims here?" he asked. "The United States is the mother of democracy. What is political about salaries to teachers and nurses? Please," he said, "please don't mix humanitarian help with politics. Please separate the two."

Further, by starving the constituency, sanctions against the Palestinian government have aggravated tensions between Fatah and Hamas.

"The fighting was the latest sign that the two sides could be sliding toward large-scale clashes. Each group has been training its gunmen for possible confrontation, and Hamas recently outbid Fatah in buying a black market shipment of 100,000 bullets.

... Hamas and the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, have been wrangling over power, particularly over control of the security forces, and the friction has been compounded by a growing financial crisis - a result of Western economic sanctions against the Hamas-led government."

While in the comforts of the West, it may be easy for one to denounce Islam, terrorism, and a broad section of the world as perpetuating violence and extremism, the results of such saber rattling have facilitated the demise of the moderate voice in the Middle East. Emboldening those in power and demoralizing the constituency, economic sanctions in Palestine have facilitated conflict and destabilization in a region that the West cannot allow to descend further into anarchy and tyranny.

Posted by Alec at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)