Radical Avenue

Ghana
The peace loving citizens of Ghana have seen their diamond encrusted West African neighborhood explode in violence over the past two decades. Fortunately, the civil wars in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone are now over and Ghana’s vibrant democracy gives this region hope.

When Ghana gained independence from Great Britain in 1957, it became the first sub-Saharan African nation to break free from colonial rule. Ghana and its tiny neighbor Benin have had several elections followed by peaceful transfers of power since then. With the battle scared countries along the coast now holding free elections, democracy is on the rise in Africa.

Nepal
The untimely demise of King Birendra in 2001 shook Nepal like no earthquake ever will. This Himalayan country situated between India and Tibet doesn’t often make headlines, but the news accounts of multiple assassinations inside the Royal Palace read like a story from medieval times.

Birendra and several members his family were shot to death, apparently by Crown Prince Dipendra, before Dipendra turned a gun on himself. The comatose Dipendra actually became King for several hours before his death.

This episode places the fragile and inherently unstable nature of ruling monarchies on full display. Voters in Nepal have now elected a 601 seat Constituent Assembly, and have tasked them with writing a new Constitution.

Bosnia
Years of sectarian bloodletting in the 1990s make consensus building a monumental task in the Balkan States. But recently Bosnian Serbs, Croats and Muslims all compromised on security reforms as part of Bosnia’s effort to join the European Union. These once warring factions have already proven that they can work together for a common purpose when given the right incentive.

Paraguay
After six decades of single party rule, Paraguay elected an opposition party leader as their new president last week. This peaceful transfer of power is a necessary part of fair elections, and comes as welcome news to those concerned about the status of democracy in South America.

Ghana, Nepal, Bosnia, Paraguay

Good news. One of the pillars of democracy has taken hold around the world. Wherever the Olympic torch travels on its way to Beijing, free speech follows.

The People Have Their Say
In America we love open political discourse so much that we’ve enshrined it in the First Amendment to our Constitution. Even two hundred years ago, the founders realized that government suppression of dissenting opinion is one of the first harbingers of totalitarianism. Conversely, free political speech is vital to a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

The US commitment to free speech is so profound that we allow leaders of antagonistic countries to criticize our government on American soil. So it’s unlikely the Chinese government was unaware of the American tradition of open discourse. The Chinese do however seem taken aback by the supporters of Tibet disrupting the torch run at all of its other stops. Apparently word of Chinese atrocities in Tibet has gotten out.

More Bad Publicity for China
Pardon me for shedding no tears over the public embarrassment of the Chinese government before, during and after the Beijing Olympics. The Chinese wanted to host the Olympics so that they could showcase China as an influential modern nation. It seems that old expression “Be careful what you wish for” applies. The spotlight is about to shine directly on China, and the Chinese government may not like what others will see.

The Olympic Games survived Hitler in the 1930s, racial protests in the 1960s and boycotts in the 1980s. They will survive the Free Tibet demonstrations as well. Let the celebrations begin.

China, Olympics, Tibet, free speech

A couple of old our acquaintances have fallen on hard times lately. In Cuba, Fidel Castro survived the CIA’s poison cigars and a 50 year US trade embargo. But intestinal failure from a lifetime of spicy foods apparently curled his toes. He finally stepped down as Cuba’s commandante in chief. On the other side of the world, Pervez Musharraf received another postcard from his fellow Pakistanis. His political party got trounced in the recent parliamentary elections. Wish you weren’t here.

Cuba
Castro will go to his grave believing in his revolution. And that’s just the point. It was always Castro’s fight. He never agreed to share power with other political parties and his leadership grew stale. Now all he has left is his brother Raul and a few old cronies parading around in camouflage.

The next generation of Cubans did not march down from the hills to defeat Batista’s Army. They have no emotional ties to the revolution. But they do have access to the internet, so they know all about regular elections, free trade and Miami nightlife.

Pakistan
The Pakistani people mistrust Pervez Musharraf. He has shown no respect for the Pakistani parliament, courts or free press. The late Benazir Bhutto’s party won most of the open parliamentary seats, followed by the party of Musharraf’s bitter rival, Nawaz Sharif. The election has been widely reported as a repudiation of Musharraf’s leadership.

The American political calendar doesn’t favor Musharraf either. The next president will probably take a long hard look at the relationship between the US, Musharraf and the Pakistani people. The clock is ticking on Musharraf’s reign of error. The only question is whether midnight will arrive with a bang or a whisper.

Cuba, Fidel Castro, Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, poison cigars

We like to think that our government answers to all Americans, but many US citizens have no representation in Congress. Americans living in US territories don’t elect anyone to the Senate or to the House of Representatives. Is it any surprise that the standard of living is lower in the territories than it is in the fifty states? Territorial residents have no one bringing home the bacon.

Residents of the following territories receive second class treatment in this country: Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. We should hear the voices of these citizens in our representative government, just like everyone else’s.

After World War II, the US Navy acquired 72% of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The Navy relocated most of the Vieques inhabitants elsewhere and proceeded to target the island in live bombing exercises for the next fifty years. If Puerto Ricans had served on the Senate Armed Services committee during these five decades, a string of defense secretaries would have been pressured to find new targets, as they since have. Instead the Puerto Rican people have had to rely on representatives from other states to champion their cause.
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Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction in 2002. We went in anyway and created a big mess. At this point our country needs to salvage whatever we can from this colossal strategic blunder. That means we need to start playing to our strengths.

We should focus our efforts on developing better relations between two groups that apparently still trust us; Turkey and the Kurds. While the Turks and the Kurds have historically been antagonistic towards each other, they each have much to gain from a lasting peace agreement. And since Turkey is a NATO ally, we can enlist our other NATO allies to assist in the negotiations.

The United States needs positive news from Iraq. A peace agreement between Turkey and the Kurds would help us in several ways:
- It would improve our standing in the region and place the US in a favorable light in a Muslim country for a change.
- It would allow us to honorably withdraw our troops from northern Iraq.
- It would strengthen Turkey, a key NATO ally.

Turkey would also benefit greatly from a lasting peace treaty with the Kurds of northern Iraq.
- It would provide stability in their country and on their southern border.
- It would solidify their standing as a peaceful, stable democracy.
- It would allow them to move beyond old feuds, just as they have with other neighbors.
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Scary: Saudi Arabia
Not Scary: Syria
Saudi Arabia is an extraordinarily wealthy country full of bored, well educated men. Since many Saudis attended college in the West, they know all about democratic institutions. These men must wonder why their country is still run by a monarchy. Children grow up learning to hate the United States in madrassas. Since Saudi Arabia is a totalitarian regime where women have no rights, the country runs on testosterone. Most of the 9-11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. So is Osama Bin Laden.

Syria is a poor country surrounded by enemies. Syria’s GDP is around $54 billion. Saudi Arabia’s GDP is $371 billion. When Israel bombed Syria a few weeks ago, the Syrian government not only didn’t retaliate, they didn’t even complain.

Scary: Pakistan
Not Scary: Iran
Pakistan is home to the Taliban, which is Al Qaeda’s closest ally. Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, and Mullah Omar, three men bent on the destruction of America all live either in Pakistan or along its border with Afghanistan. Pakistan has an unstable government, with regular assassination attempts on its leaders. Pakistan has a nuclear bomb. A.Q. Khan, a Pakistani scientist, has sold nuclear technology to other countries.

Iran has no nuclear weapons. It is a poor Shia Persian country in a neighborhood full of wealthy Sunni Arab nations. It supported our liberation of Afghanistan from Taliban tyranny.

Scary: China
Not Scary: North Korea
China has the bomb. The socialist Chinese government also owns a boatload of American debt. Virtually everything on our store shelves is produced in China, making our safety dependent on Chinese workmanship. Even our pet food is made there. Since China sits on the UN Security Council, they have a virtual veto over many of our foreign policy initiatives. China supplied arms to our enemies during our wars with North Korea and North Viet Nam, thereby weakening the United States without getting its own hands dirty.

Millions of people have starved to death in North Korea over the past decade. The country is almost entirely dependent on China. Nuclear technology is its only bargaining chip in its dealings with the West. It sees the powerhouse economy in South Korea and is no doubt green with envy. It has much to gain from better relations with the United States.

Tired of politics? Check out these scary celebrity fashion disasters.

Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North Korea, United States, nuclear bomb