“Can Baseball Bring U.S. and Cuba Together?” It Certainly Can: We’ll End Up Owning Their Baseball Team as More Will Defect if Given the Chance

Playing baseball with Cuba = more Cuban baseball players defecting to the U.S.

That’s the equation that we need to keep in mind when we think about improving our relationship with Cuba via baseball.

I think that if we want to get closer to Cuba, we should start loosening the embargo in exchange for Cuban advances toward human rights and free elections. That will go a long way further than us taking over the Cuban national baseball team by way of defections.

I think we already have enough Cuban baseball players in the U.S. to field our own Cuban national team.

North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Over Japan: Why Are We Still Pussyfooting Around With This Commie Runt?

North Korea went ahead and launched a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, in total defiance of the international community and the UN Security Council, which prohibited North Korea from playing with it's military hardware.

And the end result of this anger that's been building against North Korea? Absolutely nothing, from a do-nothing Security Council.

We can end North Korea's missile program right now. All Washington and Tokyo have to do is declare North Korea's missile launching facilities as weapons testing ranges for the United States and Japan. Whenever a missile is set up for launching by North Korea, the two countries conduct missile and bomb testing on the North Korean missile while it's still on the ground. Or they shoot it down while it's in the air, denying the North Koreans their research data.

We need to quit pussyfooting around with North Korea and start throwing serious punches at North Korea's missile development program. North Korea is too childish to be trusted with advanced military hardware and cannot be trusted under the current regime.

They're already launching missiles over Japanese territory, which doesn't make other nations in the region very happy. And they're continuing to rattle their sabers at Japan, the U.S., South Korea and the United Nations.

It's better to deal with them now before they develop the means to put a nuclear warhead onto their ballistic missiles and they can actually hit something without their missiles falling apart in mid-flight.

Pentagon Rethinking Two War Strategy: It's About Time!

The Pentagon appears to be rethinking it's policy of being prepared to fight two major wars simultaneously and still having enough force left to put up a fight somewhere else.

This policy has been in place since World War II and has been the cornerstone of American military strategy . But they're re-examining the policy now that America has had two wars going on for over six years, and their resources are stretched mighty thin.

With 170,000 soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, we don't have the necessary conventional ground forces to stop a North Korean attack on South Korea or a Chinese attack on Taiwan if trouble were to break out in that part of the world right now. The Navy and Air Force would have to carry the fight to the enemy until ground troops could be redeployed in a huge hurry.

Secretary Gates is engaged in a top-to-bottom review of every aspect of planning for wars of the future. Budgeting, weapons purchases, staffing, training, and the entire gambit of planning that goes into equipping a military force is being looked at.

I'm relieved that they're looking at this, though I am troubled that it's taken six years for them to get around to it. This should have been talked about much more thoroughly before troops were sent into Iraq.

The sooner the military wraps things up in Iraq, the sooner balance can be restored to the international scene. A threat of military force against an aggressor is only effective if there is muscle behind it. North Korea has realized this, and has effectively called our bluff. They realized that no American army will materialize to threaten them if they rattle their sabers around a bit while we're still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iran is playing the same game; so is Venezuela. "When the cat's away the mice will play" seems to be the strategy being employed by North Korea, Venezuela and Iran; pretty soon the cat will be back, and those mice are going to start running for their lives.

Then we'll see how much they enjoy our undivided attention.

Pakistan Knuckles Under to Taliban: If Pakistan Continues Down This Road, They Should Turn Their Nuclear Weapons Program Over to International Control

Pakistan agreed to impose Islamic law on a section of their country that is under the control of the Taliban, in a very troubling move that is a portent of things to come.

It's widely agreed that Pakistan's government has marginal control of their country and are facing a resurgent Taliban threat. And Pakistan is also nuclear-armed. Pakistan must not allow the possibility of their nuclear weapons ending up under Taliban control.

I think they should consider asking the Americans or Russians or some international agency to come in and remove their nuclear weapons if there is even a remote possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban. They CANNOT be trusted with nuclear weapons.

It's one thing for an elected government to control it's nuclear arms and technology, but if that government is overthrown by a terrorist force such as the Taliban, the threat couldn't be clearer. It's also clear that if the Taliban do take over Pakistan, we'll be at war with that country next.

I hope that various governments are coming up with a plan to deal with this frightening possibility of a Taliban take-over and will take multi-lateral action to seize Pakistan's nuclear arms and technology if it looks like the country will fall into Taliban hands.

What other choice is there?

Russian Professor Predicts U.S. Will Collapse and Break Apart in 2010: Russian Media Loves His Predictions

A Russian professor has predicted a 45%-55% chance that the United States will collapse under the economic strain that it's under, a second American Civil War will break out and several new nations will emerge from the wreckage.

Yeah, right.

But his wild predictions have found an audience in the Russian media, which has been interviewing him like crazy. Despite his reputation as a KGB analyst, he couldn't predict the breakup of his own country in 1991, yet he's prognosticating an American collapse in 2009-2010. His anti-Americanism has found support in Russia and in the Kremlin, who blame Washington for everything.

His description of the six new American nations to emerge from the article: California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.

Thhhhp!

My prediction: 2009 will come and go. So will 2010. America will emerge from it's economic woes sometime in 2010, with a new focus on paying off the sizable debt that is currently being accumulated.

This guy has read too much Harry Turtledove (an alternate history author). Too many of his ideas look like they've been plagiarized from Turtledove and other "what if" authors that I've read.

Are Our Big Cities Prepared for a Mumbai-Style Terror Hit?

One of the questions being asked in Britain and in the U.S. is whether there are enough anti-terrorism forces to go after terrorists in multiple locations in the same city, as it happened in Mumbai, India. Rather than army commandos, it would likely be SWAT teams that would be initially deployed in places like New York, L.A., Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta. Britain's got their own version of SWAT.

Focusing in on America, if a terrorist force hit multiple locations in one city and managed to dig in as they did in Mumbai, would there be enough SWAT units and other similar units to quickly deploy and begin immediate operations to secure whatever locations had been seized and rescue the hostages? And would reinforcements be quickly available from the federal government?

India was not prepared for an attack of this magnitude; it took 60 hours for them to clear the buildings that were captured by the terrorists. During that time, the terrorists were shooting hostages.

Are we ready for something like this?

Pakistan Orders It's Army to Open Fire on American Troops on Strike Missions Into Pakistani Territory: American Side Needs to Back Off

Pakistan is getting fed up with American troops crossing the border into their territory to destroy Taliban and al-Qaeda targets and has ordered it's army to open fire on American and coalition forces that they encounter inside Pakistan. This is not a healthy turn of events.

An American admiral went to Pakistan to talk to their new government about smoothing things over, but each time an American strike happens inside Pakistan and civilians get killed by American bombs and missiles, it destabilizes Pakistan's fragile government and increases the risk of an anti-American government coming to power in Islamabad. This is not a good way of keeping Pakistan on our side.

I don't think this is a correct course of action to take; we don't need to get into a shooting war with Pakistan over this. I think President Bush and the Pentagon need to decide if Pakistan is still our ally or if it's a nation that we intend to invade next. We're not acting like good friends to Pakistan.

No good can come of this.

When Is That Little Commie Runt in Venezuela Going to Get Indicted on Drug Charges?

The U.S., Venezuela and Bolivia are engaged in expelling one another's ambassadors; the U.S. has also frozen the assets of two Venezuelans who are engaged in drug dealing to raise money for FARC rebels in Columbia.

Screw that!

When will U.S. courts indict President Chavez on drug dealing charges? Forget about the lackeys, go for the head of the snake itself, and charge him as Manuel Noriega was. Better yet, get INTERPOL involved, as Chavez ordered his people to sell drugs for FARC, which he supports. That's grounds for INTERPOL involvement.

Further, Columbia, the U.S. and Venezuela are all signatories to the INTERPOL agreement. If the U.S. wants to isolate the Mouth of the South, this is a good way to do so, until Columbia's people get tired of Chavez and throw him out of office themselves.

Who Cares What Bolivia Does? They Need Us More Than We Need Them

Regarding the Bolivian expulsion of our ambassador: WHO CARES?

They need us more than we need them. Let them throw our entire embassy out while their country goes to pieces, as it's currently doing.

The State Department can cut their budget accordingly and save the money that would be wasted on Bolivia's current government. They won't even be there in a couple of months! Their own people seem to be showing them the door.

Good riddance!

China Wants Satellite Shoot-Down Data: They Should Share Their Data on Their Shoot-Down FIRST

China's hypocrisy matches the hypocrisy coming out of Washington these days.

They started this mess last year when they blasted one of their old weather satellites with a missile test, creating a debris field that is still in orbit and still dangerous to satellites and spacecraft that need to share the same orbit.

The U.S. knocked a malfunctioning spy satellite out of orbit yesterday in a very low orbit that will be cleared of debris within a couple of weeks as most of the pieces of our satellite will re-enter the atmosphere and be destroyed by the fiery re-entry.

Yet the Chinese are demanding to see our military's data on yesterday's U.S. anti-satellite operation, while at the same time refusing to share their data on their own test from last year. I think China ought to share what it has from it's own test FIRST before asking to see ours.

I might add that the Chinese operation was ill-conceived as their satellite was further out and the debris field now threatens spacecraft that have to either share or pass through the orbit that the debris now occupies. That was not very considerate of the Chinese to pull that kind of stunt. If one of our shuttles gets hit by debris from this Chinese satellite, they'll be the ones at fault if the shuttle is damaged and subsequently lost.

The U.S. operation, while I disagreed with it, was much more carefully considered. They waited until the satellite was within days of re-entering the atmosphere and Earth's gravity had captured it. The debris will re-enter the atmosphere and will be gone before the shuttle Endeavour takes off from Cape Canaveral within three weeks.

You see the difference in the level of expertise and professionalism between China and the U.S.?

My main point is that the U.S. criticized China's shoot-down, then did the same thing less than a year later. And both sides are criticizing the other for doing the same thing. Double-standards galore! Break out the wheelbarrows; the BS is starting to overflow its banks.

So when's Russia going to shoot down a bird? From the Russian point of view, they HAVE to now. And the U.S. and China have no credibility left to protest Russia's action if it chooses to show it's stuff. And it will.

Kosovo Declares Independence: Serbia and Russia Move to Block Recognition of Earth's Newest Nation

Kosovo has declared it's independence from Serbia and the Yugoslav Federation, and has set off a political crisis at the United Nations. Serbia and Russia are moving to block recognition of the planet's newest nation.

The European Union and the United States are set to recognize it immediately.

Hopefully a new war won't break out over this.

As much as I don't like it, I think it's better that Serbia and Kosovo go their own separate ways. Both have been the transgressors in past conflicts; the two governments don't like one another, and with the recent history, it was an uncomfortable relationship at best. And in this case, Christianity and Islam don't play well in the same sandbox. I think Russia and Serbia ought to get over it and move on.

I'm still not happy with NATO's bombing of civilian targets in Serbia the last time around. NATO admitted killing up to 1,500 non-combatant civilians during their 78-day air war against Serbia. Depleted uranium rounds were used by NATO, as were cluster bombs in close proximity to civilians in both Kosovo and in Serbia.

That made NATO a co-aggressor alongside Serbia.

And we criticized Israel for using U.S.-built cluster bombs in southern Lebanon for the same thing during their war with Hezbollah last year? Our hypocrisy knows NO bounds.

No one from NATO was made to answer for the collateral damage. And I still think members of the U.S. government who helped to make up the target lists (including bombing the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade) needed to be up on war crimes charges as well. But they got away with it.

And now Kosovo has declared independence; if Serbia decides to go in and end this independence bid by Kosovo, are NATO ground troops going to get involved? This could turn into a huge mess very quickly.

Russians Believe U.S. Shoot-Down of Dead Satellite is Test of Anti-Ballistic Missile System: They'll Kill a Bird Next

The Russian Federation has accused the U.S. of testing part of it's anti-ballistic missile capability with the planned shoot-down of a dead U.S. spy satellite. Since China tested an anti-satellite weapon a few months ago, and the U.S. is taking a bird down now, how long can it be before Russia decides to demonstrate the might of it's own weapons?

It's very likely that the Russians will destroy one of their own satellites to prove to the U.S. and China that it's in the ballgame too, and can destroy enemy surveillance and communications satellites at will. And this will in turn raise U.S./Russian tensions even further.

The Bush Administration may want to rethink this planned shoot-down. It's going to provoke the Russians; they're already agitated enough with the placement of U.S. anti-ballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic to threaten to target Russian nuclear missiles on both nations. They've also threatened to target missiles on Ukraine if it joins NATO.

We have a space shuttle up there right now; why can't they re-task the Atlantis to retrieve the satellite and drag it to a higher orbit, or bring it back to Earth? That's what the damned thing is designed for, after all.

President Bush needs to settle down and stop pushing the Russians around. They've returned to a Cold War mentality; we need to as well, and try to avoid taking steps that will blow both countries to kingdom come.

Venezuela's Collapsing Economy Should Be Watched Carefully in This Country: There's a Valuable Lesson for the U.S. Government to be Found Here

Venezuela's out-of-control spending increased their inflation by an amazing 4.4% last month to 18.6%, according to international economists. And it looks to get much worse unless it's government reigns in it's own spending. If it keeps up at that rate, Venezuela's oil profits will not be enough to keep it above water.

And now there are reports of shortages of basic goods and food in Venezuela, which could seriously destabilize the communist wanna-be government of Hugo Chavez. Food costs in Venezuela have gone up 33% in spite of government attempts to influence prices of major domestic commodities.

People in our own government should be watching what's happening to prices in Venezuela's economy and declining currency, as the same thing could happen here if Congress and the White House don't get a handle on OUR out-of-control government spending.

As it is, the U.S. debt is somewhere near $10 trillion. Venezuela's debt is a fraction of ours, but Venezuela doesn't have the economic power that our nation does and so is much more vulnerable to economic chaos than we are. When our economy declines, it's a gradual event. But in a smaller nation like Venezuela, it's like someone's hit the fast forward button. Changes are quite sudden and get real bad, real fast.

Are the decision-makers in this country paying attention?

Russian Rhetoric Over Proposed Missile Shield is Nothing But Paranoia: No Ten Missiles Ever Built Could Stop a Massive Russian Nuclear Attack

Russian President Vladimir Putin managed to turn the G-8 conference on it's head with his Cold War-style comments on the proposed U.S. missile shield that will have elements in Eastern Europe.

I think he's trying to restart the Cold War and is using the missile shield to do it. There will be elements of the shield in Poland and in the Czech Republic; Putin threatened to target the sites with Russian nuclear weapons.

This is Russian paranoia.

The proof is in the number of intercept missiles that will be based in Poland--a grand total of ten--and the fact that Russia has many times that number of missiles in the form of ICBMs, and technology that allows each ICBM to carry more than one nuclear warhead (anywhere from three to fourteen nuclear warheads).

Look at it this way: if the American system were targeted on Russia, it would destroy the first ten nuclear missiles that Russia launched, leaving the rest of the Russian ICBMs free to launch and to presumably destroy their targets anywhere in the world. And that's IF the American system worked perfectly, which it really hasn't yet.

This missile intercept system should be a non-issue to Russia, but Putin is using it to his advantage to stay in power.

If the Russians don't want this system to be deployed, perhaps they should reign in their pals North Korea and Iran, whose ability to make trouble is unparalleled in the modern age. Or offer to host the system on Russian soil.

In any case, Russia's stirring the pot for Putin's benefit, and no one else's.