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To the Homeland Security Officer that is reading this,
Well, first off - hi.
One of the frequent readers of my blog (he/she goes by "Zane". That's "Zane" with a Z) thought that the President might like an idea I put forth on May 4, 2008 in a post entitled, "Cooler, more refreshed heads will prevail.". With his visit to Israel coming up I thought that he might like to give it a quick perusal. Be a dear and pass it on to him. It would be so great if the Palestinians and the Israelis could know the kind of freedom that we take for granted in the good ol' US of A!
Thanks for the help,
Uncle Robert
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
You can't always tell a military dictatorship by it's cover.
It's been 12 days since the cyclone ravaged Burma. Presently the Burmese authorities are reporting that 28,458 are dead and 33,416 missing. The West has responded as it always has - by sending aid. But the Burmese government has been quite surprising in the way it has dealt with the aid.
Many are criticizing the local government's refusal to allow all the aid planes to land. The refusal to accept all aid "ad hock" seems an odd response to the tragedy that continues to unfold. I personally believe that there are at least 2 good reasons for the response.
First, one must remember that the world is forever changed as a result of 911. Security is a primary concern for all countries - not just the West. Could you imagine the problems that Al-Qaeda could cause in a country like Burma? Changing a country's system of government from the current Military Dictatorship to a Theocratic Military Dictatorship would be costly and time consuming. The amount of paperwork required to switch munition suppliers alone would amount to weeks of paper shuffling. How would a government find the manpower to subjugate the people, slow aid distribution and file all the necessary paperwork at the same time? Clearly, it would be all but impossible.
The second point is even more obvious. The Burmese government is taking it's environmental responsibilities seriously. More seriously than the West in fact. Sure, we can read "The 100 Mile Diet". But no sooner have we finished the last page than we start shipping food half way across the globe. You have to stand in awe of the Burmese government's "stick to it" mentality. No wonder the same government has been in power since 1962!
Doubtless, there will be those readers who will throw caution to the wind and, subconsciously hoping for beach front property everywhere, will insist on "helping" with the aid effort. For you, I include these addresses to a few NGOs. But I wash my hands of any responsibility.
http://www.wvi.org
http://www.redcross.org/
http://www.oxfam.org/
Many are criticizing the local government's refusal to allow all the aid planes to land. The refusal to accept all aid "ad hock" seems an odd response to the tragedy that continues to unfold. I personally believe that there are at least 2 good reasons for the response.
First, one must remember that the world is forever changed as a result of 911. Security is a primary concern for all countries - not just the West. Could you imagine the problems that Al-Qaeda could cause in a country like Burma? Changing a country's system of government from the current Military Dictatorship to a Theocratic Military Dictatorship would be costly and time consuming. The amount of paperwork required to switch munition suppliers alone would amount to weeks of paper shuffling. How would a government find the manpower to subjugate the people, slow aid distribution and file all the necessary paperwork at the same time? Clearly, it would be all but impossible.
The second point is even more obvious. The Burmese government is taking it's environmental responsibilities seriously. More seriously than the West in fact. Sure, we can read "The 100 Mile Diet". But no sooner have we finished the last page than we start shipping food half way across the globe. You have to stand in awe of the Burmese government's "stick to it" mentality. No wonder the same government has been in power since 1962!
Doubtless, there will be those readers who will throw caution to the wind and, subconsciously hoping for beach front property everywhere, will insist on "helping" with the aid effort. For you, I include these addresses to a few NGOs. But I wash my hands of any responsibility.
http://www.wvi.org
http://www.redcross.org/
http://www.oxfam.org/
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Cooler, more refreshed heads will prevail.
A wise (and ridiculously good looking) man once said, "When life gives you lemons make lemonade" - oh, that was me a few posts ago. Go figure. Anyway, back to the point at hand.
For the past several decades, few peoples have received more lemons than the Palestinians. It is their time to make lemonade. Condoleezza Rice is in the region this weekend to pursue steps toward peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The immediate issue to attend to - barriers and roadblocks.
Israel has used these as a way of restricting movement of the Palestinians. The thought is that with restricted movement there will be fewer opportunities for Palestinian militants/freedom fighters to carry out attacks on Israel. It also has the secondary effect of crippling the Palestinian economy - which, in turn, is supposed to put pressure on the Palestinian fighters to cease their operations.
Presently only 44 of the previously agreed upon 61 barriers have been removed. The Palestinian view is that the removal of these has been of minimal benefit to their people. Of course, the Israelis are hesitant to remove the remaining barriers lest the attacks on their people continue. So the question at present is how to ease the plight of the Palestinians and maintain security of the Israelis. The answer to this is lemonade - literally.
Given the state of the Palestinian economy it makes sense to use a western free market capitalist model. So I suggest that, with start up capital from the Israelis, the Palestinians start at the beginning of the process - with lemonade stands. Everyone in the west is familiar with this as an entry point to capitalism and all of its splendor. If it's good enough for us, then gosh darn it, it's good enough for them. The Palestinian economy would benefit from the newly created jobs and the people of the region would benefit from the pleasure of enjoying one of the most tasty and refreshing beverages known to man. What would be in it for the Israelis? The long lines formed by the patrons would create a natural barrier to unimpeded movement. They could then remove the remaining 17 "barriers" with the knowledge that they have effectively lost nothing. Maybe they could even enjoy a glass or two themselves. Mmmm. Yummy!!
Of course there is the technology barrier to consider. But I'm willing to bet that an enterprising Palestinian 8 year old could figure out a way to utilize RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) for the extraction process. Perhaps we could even send some of our more successful lemonade stand operators to coach the budding entrepreneurs. I smell franchising opportunities!
For the past several decades, few peoples have received more lemons than the Palestinians. It is their time to make lemonade. Condoleezza Rice is in the region this weekend to pursue steps toward peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The immediate issue to attend to - barriers and roadblocks.
Israel has used these as a way of restricting movement of the Palestinians. The thought is that with restricted movement there will be fewer opportunities for Palestinian militants/freedom fighters to carry out attacks on Israel. It also has the secondary effect of crippling the Palestinian economy - which, in turn, is supposed to put pressure on the Palestinian fighters to cease their operations.
Presently only 44 of the previously agreed upon 61 barriers have been removed. The Palestinian view is that the removal of these has been of minimal benefit to their people. Of course, the Israelis are hesitant to remove the remaining barriers lest the attacks on their people continue. So the question at present is how to ease the plight of the Palestinians and maintain security of the Israelis. The answer to this is lemonade - literally.
Given the state of the Palestinian economy it makes sense to use a western free market capitalist model. So I suggest that, with start up capital from the Israelis, the Palestinians start at the beginning of the process - with lemonade stands. Everyone in the west is familiar with this as an entry point to capitalism and all of its splendor. If it's good enough for us, then gosh darn it, it's good enough for them. The Palestinian economy would benefit from the newly created jobs and the people of the region would benefit from the pleasure of enjoying one of the most tasty and refreshing beverages known to man. What would be in it for the Israelis? The long lines formed by the patrons would create a natural barrier to unimpeded movement. They could then remove the remaining 17 "barriers" with the knowledge that they have effectively lost nothing. Maybe they could even enjoy a glass or two themselves. Mmmm. Yummy!!
Of course there is the technology barrier to consider. But I'm willing to bet that an enterprising Palestinian 8 year old could figure out a way to utilize RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) for the extraction process. Perhaps we could even send some of our more successful lemonade stand operators to coach the budding entrepreneurs. I smell franchising opportunities!
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