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Citizens of all countries ought to tell their governments that Olympics is a zone reserved exclusively for the people, completely demilitarized and depoliticized. Governments must simply forget about banning their people from attending the world’s greatest people-to-people celebration.
I have no choice but to disagree with David Ignatius’ recent column comparing recent events in Pakistan to the run-up to the Iranian Revolution. Recent events do not resemble that era or its atmosphere.
Three decades ago, about 30 million Iranians simply wanted to have the most basic democratic opportunity: to elect their own leaders and parliament and pursue independence within their own borders. The Indian model might serve as a good example. No Iranian wants (or ever wanted to be part of) a machine to wreak random violence or to let proliferation of hate and terror originate from Iran.
The Current Discussion: With Castro gone, will Cuba become America's 51st state?
The question is about as old as the anti-Cuba sanctions themselves, and the short answer is: hardly! Washington has been drumming for full capitulation by Cuba as a pre-condition. American media reports its summary judgement on Cuba by the age of cars seen in Havana. And when was the last time that a meeting put American and Cuban citizens in touch to scratch the surface?
No Cuban is going to forgive or forget the collective punishment scheme of sanctions, no matter how ineffective they’ve been. Exiles in Miami are fed up with insincere talk therapy. Exiles and residents are independent-minded people and they recall the words of James Bovard: “Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.” In the meantime, the administration in Washington will simply coin yet another “road map” tactic series with preconditions, and hollow vocabulary will be mixed with mushy Freedom Fries and talk to mimic policy.
It is an odd time to poke an old stick in the Balkan beehive. Significant problems are tangled with an ill-conceived plan which is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1244. A summary amputation of territory from a sovereign nation will create an unwanted precedent, torpedo international law and plough through multilateral organizations. But I will not be surprised if busting through these organisations is the real aim and Kosovo is used as the tractor.
The Current Discussion: New York State governor Eliot Spitzer admits he hired a prostitute. Should people care, and why?
The election process is about public trust as well as law and order. The public invests its trust in a legally defined bond with that person to carry out the duties spelled out in the law and compliance with it. The case of Mr. Spitzer and his suspected involvement in aiding the interstate sex industry, a crime under American laws, is a stark reminder of limits that test the abuse of trust. Unlike Bill Clinton, it seems that Mr. Spitzer did in fact inhale!
The situation in Zimbabwe is not a new development. It is a festering matter put on the low or no priority list of international debate. The actions of the President Mugabe are a mere repeat of playbooks of strongmen in the same league -- Pakistan under President Musharraf, Serbia run by Mr. Milosevic, and the early days of the Ugandan Idi Amin come to mind.
Most powerful countries have tried to encourage change on the cheap. This exercise to isolate Zimbabwe has produced talk and hollow posturing, but hardly any tangible help for ordinary people there. The economic implosion of Zimbabwe -- once known for its humming agricultural and mining sectors, a respectable education system, and hard working people -- is the net product of disengagement. For the time being, local institutions are in the spotlight to see if the intended functions and independence of state bodies are effective. Election commissions, demands for recount, and courts are running the course.
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