There is nothing so illuminating than to observe the actions of a new American President as he attempts to establish his credentials , and so position his country as the global political power house top dog that many still enjoy believing that she still is. In like manner , one can almost find it laughable as one observe nations, and regional leaders jockey for attention to prove that they are relevant and deserving of equal attention over the next four to eight years that said President might be fortunate to be the first amongst equal , Commander in Chief , and symbolic head of the free and perhaps not no free world. President Obama now finds himself in that un -enviable position of trying to maneuver rockets in North Korea, prevent suicide bombs from exploding in Afghanistan and Iraq, continually entice Israel’s political and military hierarchy with taxpayers dollars as aid , so that they could contain themselves from dropping their still secret and the non - existent nuclear bombs on nervous neighbors , finally halt globally ignored genocides in Sudan and Congo, and keep confuse European allies enthralled and amused by his wife’s Michelle, and Carla Bruni Sarkozy’s fashion statements , and most importantly grapple with the debilitating domestic and global economic crisis that is soon about to make the depression look like a cake walk in comparison. What is even more intriguing for our President is that as a the first minority leader of USA the global police , he is under the periscope in like manner to Bay of Pigs then untested JFK -the first Catholic President . He is charismatic, educated, politically inexperience and has to prove that he is now capable of moving beyond the Hollywood media glitz , and elite rhetoric to deliver on a domestic mandate , as well as deliver on global promises and expectations . Is he tough and capable of withstanding the heat and pressures that Vice President Joe Biden his former running mate prodded him on in the recent contentious political campaign when both were rivals? Can he live up to the American faith in him to be “ready from day one,” two , 100 ,or 1000, as feared by crafty twin towers co- Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and her Presidential advisor - the perennial political ‘energizer bunny,’ and her ‘loving’ husband- his slickness , Bill Clinton?
The challenge for this President would be to walk the thin line of trying to appease everyone, particularly the crafty states enamored with the chess like strategy of political brinkmanship - a game aimed at coercing adversaries into making conciliatory moves due to the skilful manipulation of violence and other risks ,that no one it is assumed wants but pretends to so as to encourage backing down or an opponent’s blink. We know the culprits that have practiced this strategy with impunity over the years. They included leaders in Iran, Israel , North Korea , and let’s now throw in the new kids on the block , China, India, Pakistan ,Somalia, Venezuela, and Russia, since their actions have dominated the airwaves and other media pages recently. At the same time he has to appear strong to match the tough talk and rhetoric of the intellectually challenged frat boy of ‘Axis of evil fame ,’ whose behaviors over the past eight years are making parents question the value of exorbitant spending for the acquisition of elite institutional education from places like Harvard and Yale , as this and similar follies are destined to send many more families into bankruptcy in similar fashion to how George W left the nation morally, economically and politically.
Since I am the beneficiary of a more pragmatic and less elitist education that included the wise council of one of the wisest women that ever lived - My Grandmother. I’ll pass on two piece of simple, practical, advice to our now seemingly overburdened President . They are as follows: “Never bite off more than you can chew,” and “if you’ve always done, what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Please do not over reach and attempt to the be the all encompassing President that tries to make everyone happy , as it just won’t happen in your lifetime, or even your beautiful daughters. Nuclear weapons proliferation would be ongoing way into the 21st and 22nd century. Terrorism will forever be a fixture , especially state terrorism as practice by some of the US close allies , since there are no common agreements even at the most prestigious circles as to what it is. There would always be wars and rumors of wars even if all the troops return home next week or 16 months hence. Castro would soon die, and his mimic, the military upstart and buffoon Chavez, would self destruct and disappear soon , so no need to loose sleep over them. The global economy , like the environment , would rectify itself eventually of it’s own doing. The world will continue to ignore it as long as it involves the lives of non- Europeans as manifested by the much traveled world savior and NGO Kingpin- you guest it, Bill Clinton the kid from Hope Arkansas deeply concerned about your encroaching forays into his ‘stellar legacy.’ Perhaps you should do like the monarchs of old and have a taster when around the first couple from the chicken farm state and white water , and late Vincent Foster fame .
Here is something that most American don’t know , or choose to forget , but you cannot. The proud Iranians were playing this political and diplomatic game long before the USA was even conceived as a nation , and most importantly , they are aware of their history and America as well as Colonial Britain’s role in it. In 1951 their Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was named Times man of the year. Two years later he was overthrown in the first ever CIA Kermit Roosevelt directed coup, ushering in the dreaded dictator and close US ally- puppet Meza Shah. He was overthrown in 1979, and the rest as we say is history, Ayatollah, Hezbollah, Saddam Hussein ten year demonic war ,and America became symbolic Persona non grata, as they froze the assets of Iran along with the promised nuclear technological blue prints that were promised to the extravagant Shah . http://www.payvand.com/news/03/aug/1106.html
As for the North Koreans? Isn’t it interesting that East Germany today is an important part of the State of Germany, thus making the country a power house in Europe , when the US still possess some of the most dangerous weapons of mass destructions, aimed at starving North Korea along with thousand of military troops ,and yet we are confused as to why the scared and desperate North Koreans might be tempted to go nuclear? Since no state that ever went nuclear ever suffered a real attack like Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, care to answer why almost isolated Persian , Shiite dominated Iran , as well as North Korea and not Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea ,or Japan are the ones lasciviously eying the nuclear bomb? The world is watching as the tough talking debates rages on , it is time for decisive actions from the sole super power and global policeman . Brinkmanship and Minority Power posturing are certain to lead us all into more turmoil it is certain

Sixteen years ago former USSR citizens Leonid and Tatyana Timoshenko , brought their nine year old son Russel Timoshenko to the United States , and like million others through the centuries , sought a better life for him and the rest of the family . They clearly thought that he was on the verge of achieving this goal when he decided to become a New York City police officer four credits short of a BA degree in economics from City University CUNY. These hopes were however dashed when his precious life was cut shot at the hands of gun toting criminals on July 9, 2007.
Officer Russel Timoshenko stood little chance as two bullets got him in the face , with one lodging in his spine as he desperately held on for five days before finally dying, leaving his distraught parents to bury him. So much did this tragedy dragged at the heart strings of neighborhood members, that on July 20, mourners stretched for 10 blocks on Flatbush Avenue, to give the young American a hero's funeral.
The irony about death is that it can sneak up when one least expects, with guns often at the forefront of the mayhem . This is more so the case for immigrants. # http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/04/binghamton-new-york-gunman-shootingWho can forget the several regular Joe computer annalist on the 20th floor of the World Trade Center in 2001 , or an innocent Brazilian trying to get to the subway in London when London police pounce with drawn guns because they claim to suspect that you are a terrorist.
How about 23 year old African Guinean native Amadou Bailo Diallo? He was shot 41 times on Feburary 4th 1999 by four lain clothes polices that insinuated that he fit the descriptions of a serial rapist. In February 25, 2000,they were all acquitted.
Then there is the famous former nurse Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy -the very staunch advocate of gun-control laws. She got her foray into politics when in 1993 her husband was killed and her son severely injured by Jamaican mass murderer Colin Ferguson as he opened random fire on unarmed passengers, killing six and wounding 19 others in the process.
From Virginia Tech College , to Columbine High unprovoked gun violence has wrecked havocked in schools and public institutions across America. Not to be forgotten are the thousands of rural and urban inner city young people that are daily caught in the cross fire of gang related gun violence .Not surprisingly ,law enforcement officers that must confront these situations, like New York finest Russel Timoshenko did , are forced to take a tough line approach that pit them against communities that they are expected to protect.
Gun control continues to be hotly debated in a country that find itself at a cross road with regards to the passage of stricter gun control laws , as opposed to freedom by citizens to benefit from the Second Amendment that allows gun ownership.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Text
One of my main concern is to see how folks handle a crisis that has impacted negatively on their lives. Carolyn McCarthy is a stand out , and has been a strong champion for anti gun laws and curbing the efforts of the powerful NRA. Likewise Tatyana Timoshenko, is doing her part to put pressure on states such as Virginia and 38 others that have soft gun laws can allow residents even with proper ID to freely obtain weapons like the one that killed her son. She has joined New York‘s Mayor in his political crusade to put pressures on politicians in the south to tighten up on weapons laws that are creating havoc in his city and similar ones, and has even started three organizations and used some of his vast fortunes to place ads in the are to help spread his message. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/13/2009-04-13_mayor_slams_va_gov_in_ad.html
It is unfortunate sometimes to see American that are callous to the point of not showing remorse or empathy for a family that lost a child through gun violence. Perhaps it’s because of the frequency of gun murders, that the population has become num and callus when it comes to reactions.http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090405/NEWS08/904050393/-1/RSS05 Ever so often however, something tragic occurs to some one that fails to fit a particular profile and a bit more sympathy ad positive reaction comes into play . The Brady Handgun Law was such , due to a 1983 tragedy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Handgun_Violence_Prevention_Act

One would hope that it would not continually require personal catastrophes for political actions to happen. http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/exporting-gun-violence.pdfOne would hope that the outrage that occasionally occur against sleeping politicians and US domestic Gun manufactures , as well as competing European, and Asian counterparts . Many have made billions from the sale of small arms weapons to developing countries and the falls out have been devastating.http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_785.html The effects of small arms on the lives of adults and children have been very huge , but no more so than in Africa. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/1999/04/990430-africa1.htm Latin America and the Mexican border states are also in the bulls eye when it comes to illicit gun sales, and the rhetoric has been extremely high on both sides of the divide of Gun- control advocates ,verses Gun- rights groups , with either side unwilling to budge. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-mexico-guns_avilaapr05,0,3727945.story.
From Congo in the South to Liberia and Serra Leone in the West , across to Sudan , Ethiopia and Somalia in the East the AK 47 and other western manufactured weapons are continually taking their tolls with limited outraged and sympathy by citizens of the rich industrial countries. Where is the empathy , can justifiably enquire?
What is responsible for such one might enquire? Tune in to any media outlets , and with few exceptions you will be saturated with news about the dangers of possible Nuclear proliferation, where as illicit trade of small arms receive very little attention. Can one expect a serious shift in attitudes as the wins of change continues to be felt in Washington , and similar quarters across the globe? http://www.iansa.org/
Give me your oil ,diamonds , Uranium and other precious resources seem to be the dominant new globalization mantra . What’s your stand, and how can the focus and debate change based on the results ? http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/salw.html

“Beware of a man with nothing to loose.”                       

Anonymous

      One can not help but be ecstatic about Sunday’s rescue efforts of a very courageous American ship captain Richard Phillips, by US Navy Seals snipers along the coast of Somalia . The scene almost look too good to be true, and reminds one of one of the numerous Hollywood over the top plots , that emanated from a Tom Clancy novel or script. Our new President has made the rounds successfully across the globe from Europe to the Middle East . His voice is resonating quite loud and clear on the tenuous nuclear situation in North Korea, and Iran, as well as the military calamitous forays in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

He is on the verge of embarking on the highly anticipated Summit of Americas in the beautiful democratic island of Trinidad and Tobago, where Cuba’s economic fortunes might just be about to get a long over due and much deserved boost due to his tentative shift in policy. However, there has been almost complete silence on the Virgin Continent of Africa even if both have undergone two of the longest civil wars in the history of mankind , and genocide is as common as the President doing a lay up on the Whitehall basketball court ,and Michelle posing for photographers in another stunning outfit as she continually pretend to be unperturbed by the famous fashion legacy of much adored Jackie O Kennedy.

This situation promises to change drastically if desperate Somalians have anything to say about it. They are somehow prepared to remind the slick talking campaigning President that Africa is still relevant, and if he wants to get his own coronation as a future African tribal king like first black President Bill Clinton, then he has to focus a bit on distant neglected relatives in Africa. This unfortunately dear friends, is what terrorism translates to in our modern era, as it is not only manifested by suicide bombings , and sophisticated engineering feats masterminded by MIT and Oxford final years Asian or Arab elite students.

I could not help but be amused though confused by the remarks of a so call terrorism security expert as he responded to a journalist as to how the President should deal with the Somalia terrorist aka pirates. Well, let’s just say that the only things he felt short of recommending to our President was to direct an entire battalion to Somalia , and reinitiate the much dreaded military draft . He was so outraged at the President for kissing the ring of the Queen of England, and the feet of the Saudi King, that he felt the time was almost necessary to bring out the firepower and end this soft kissing diplomatic yuppie affair with American haters across the globe. He took great pains however to remind the world - and here is the shocker- that what is transpiring along Somalia’s border by these non -state actors was not terrorism but piracy.

To me therein lies the fundamental problem. It’s what I like to call loosely the ‘square peg in round hole syndrome,’ where by tenuous leaders along with so called experts are entrusted with the power to make critical decisions of global significance ,but are failing daily in their duties. No one seems to be capable of fully defining concepts anymore- even the folks that should know better. 800,000 Rwandans died in central Africa a decade or more ago, and no one lifts a finger because of quibbling in the corridors of power as to what constitutes genocide. 10,000 die in Europe ,and swift action was taken against Yugoslavian breakaway leaders by the Clinton regime. Fortunately the newly appointed Dr. Rice can get a chance to rectify that wrong this time around as she sits on the very same pinnacle of power.

A final example to prove my point is the case of North Korea and Iran. The media is saturated by so call experts primarily of a military and hard core theoretical nature, that daily demands that America get into a war mode to prevent nuclear terrorism from getting a boost via the efforts of these two countries. What are the alleged crimes of the energy deficient North Korea , and perennially threatened Iran , as both jockey for position after years of stagnant economic progress , due to political isolations , and economic sanctions? They are often characterized as rogue states - a terminology that was once directed at Libya. They prefer to believe that they are in full compliance of the entire Non Proliferation Treaty tenets.

Let’s commend President Obama for his steady leadership thus far , for not embarking on any hasty political action , as he tries to maneuver along the extremely dangerous and distracting political landscape, where the desperate would use any means at their disposal to garner attention and highlight historically menacing plights . The world is happy to be deprived of those bombastic speech reading shenanigans about global evil vagabonds, and miscreants in savage continents ,solely concerned with destroying the way of life of selective segments of the global village. Is this an indication that the pieces are finally falling into place, and we have shifted the pieces around to prevent the continual fallouts of placing ‘square pegs in round hold ? We should wait and see , but never fail to keep an eye on so called experts with narrow , and often hidden agendas, correct?