It's a mad, mad world

Well, it's time for a real update. The focus will again be world affairs.

Terri Schiavo dies
An end to a case which cannot bring any good to the peace of the Republic. Because there was no legal end to the case, neither side is satisfied. Perhaps the autopsy will answer some of the nagging questions. Regardless, the way this played out has been most disruptive, and promises a renewed struggle between the political left and right.

Zimbabwe votes
It seems Zimbabweans (alive and dead, apparently) have gone to the polls. If I were a gambling man, I wouldn't bet that the opposition MDC wins. Once one of Africa's most prosperous countries, the kleptocracy of Robert Mugabe has turned Zimbabwe into a nation falling headlong into a humanitarian crisis, rivaled only by places like the Sudan and North Korea. It seems the ZANU-PF will continue to follow this pattern. The UN, of course, is demanding that more money be sent to Zimbabwe because kids are suffering. I hate to disabuse Ms. Bellamy, but no matter how much money the UN sends to Zimbabwe, the exact same amount is going to get to the children- none.
Of course, international monitors are happy that there has not been the violence of previous years.
Quite frankly, the international monitors can stick it. They're obsessed with stability, and as long as there isn't any shooting in an election, it's free and fair. Of course, the reason there's none of that in Zimbabwe is because Mugabe's thugs beat up any opposition. This is typical of Jimmah-ocratic behaviour. Of course, as long as Zimbabwe can be ignored, it will be ignored.
For a good sense of the chaotic mess that the country has become, read this fine article. Amongst the problems are an AIDS rate up to 40%, millions of refugees swarming into South Africa and other neighbouring countries, and a system based on fraud and systematic rape.

Spanish cowards give arms to tinpot Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez
Well, it seems that there is no end to the perfidy of the cursed Spaniards. Ever since the days of Cortez, this cursed bunch has brought nothing but misery to the earth. Their history is one of inflicting human suffering on civilised peoples, and butchering their own language (at least in Bar-the-lona). They couldn't even supress a terrorist group which bothers to call in warnings before it sets off its bombs, during a military dictatorship to boot!
Any-way, any final shred of respect one might have for the odious Spaniards ended after the 3/11 attacks on Atocha station. The Spaniards decided to send a clear message- they elected a government that threatened to withdraw all Spanish forces from Iraq unless the US got a UN resolution passed regarding the occupation of Iraq. When it looked like said resolution would pass, the cursed Zappo withdrew pre-emptively. As fark.com said on the occasion, "Terrorists Win".
Any-way, new PM Zapatero decided to make himself the lap-dog of the "EU vs America" school of European thought. He courted Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroder, and cursed the US. Now, he's seeking to "balance out" US influence in South America by selling arms to the premier "El Presidente" of the realm, Hugo Chavez!
The irony is that Spain was a premier recipient of US military aid under the previous administration of Sr. Anzar.
Any-way, the Chavez regime is in need of new weapons because it has many fun new activities to its credit. Chavez has been supporting the FARC guerilla movement in neighbouring Colombia in a variety of ways. In addition, he has created paramilitary Popular Defence Brigades comprised, naturally, of his followers. Of course, they have military training and will require military arms (why does this remind me of Manuel Noriega's "Dignity Batallions"?). Fortunately, Hugo has assured us that his new weapons are "instruments of peace". Whew. I'm certainly re-assured.
In addition, Spain and Venezuela have agreed to trade oil, joining Venezuela's new partners such as China.

Damned Spaniards.

Pope Given Last Rites
It seems Pope John Paul II has a urinary tract infection and a high fever. He's been given last rites of this writing.

Well, that's a news roundup. All in all, not a pleasant day.

Carnival of Jesuit Bloggage

To-day I've a major paper to finish, so I will make note instead of other assorted blogs from Jesuit students. Regular posting, perhaps with a focus on the continuning train wreck that is Zimbabwe, will resume when I'm done with this thing.
First is the progressive Dr. Fujiyama at the Institute of Science. His latest entry concerns movies he watched on break. Also worth looking at is his entry regarding his recent trip to New York City.
Then, we have Professor Massa. Because he's a Kraut, he a more an eye towards invading smaller countries than updating, but he has kept up with his commentary on break. He also proposes some slightHistorical Revisionism, especially in regards to everyone's favourite murderous twentieth century dictators.
Next is Snotball007, who updates his blog with a frequency that is comparable to mine. He writes in his last post about his events of March 14, though I understand he's in the midst of procuring a vehicle. Perhaps some carblogging is in order.
Comrade Stalin over at This American Life has begun a new schtick: philosophy-blogging. In his latest post, he puts forth his theories as to where the Soul resides in the human person, perhaps seeking to counterbalance the mind-bending views of Renee Descartes on the same subject.
Finally, to finish out the list, we have the progressive Grand Inquisitor, who has written a detailed rebuttal entitled "Boo Occam" to the nominalist doctrines of William of Ockham as only he can. Perhaps he might want to update his blog more often.
That's it so far for Jesuit blogging. If you're interested in joining the club, contact me and let me know, as these are the only Jesuit Blogs I'm familiar with.
Remember, comments are your friend!

World Events, and Range Report, Pt. 1

It seems that I've missed another revolution, or rather two of them. Kyrgyzstan has ousted its sitting pro-Moscow president and freed the leader of the democratic opposition- the story may be found here. This revolution has been added to the previous revolutions in Georgia, the Ukraine, and Lebanon. Some pundits are declaring this an "annus mirabilis" for Democracy- in addition to the above revolutions, free elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, and an upcoming election in Egypt seem to be confirmation that the End of History is upon us, and the global tide of democracy is sweeping away the evils of tyranny.
Of course, never being one to accept good news unconditionally, I must ask what democracy is. The answer, it seems nowadays, a system of governance based on popular election. Fair enough, but what about the liberal in liberal democracy? By liberal, of course, I don't mean Noam Chomsky or other socialistic nonsense, but rather the Latin root of the word, libertas, which puts the weight of responsibility on individuals. This seems to be on the wane, and there's a replacement- what I call "Jimmah-Democracy"
Jimmah Democracy is named, of course, for the most inept president of the US, Jimmy Carter. After failing miserably at the presidency and nearly destroying the economy, he built a few houses for poor people and became a saint. He then went about during the '90s and negotiated with various "rogue states" to stop doing assorted naughty things. He managed to again fail miserably at every turn- his peace efforts in Haiti, attempting to keep Kaptain Korruption Mssr. Aristide in power ended up in a revolution, his Middle East peace process at Oslo spawned two Palestinian Intafadas, and his deal to keep North Korea nuke free gave NK vital breathing space that allowed them to build nuclear weapons.
During the 2004 election, he sat next to the Leni Riefenstahl of the modern era, Michael Moore, and made many crazed comments and supported more than a few conspiracy theories.
King Jimmah's specialty nowadays is certifying "elections" in various nations, including Hugo Chavez' crazed Venezuelan state. His criteria for certifying seems to be based on "so long as we don't see you beating up voters then you're A-OK" and little else. Sometimes, leaders might have to make pronouncements about the importance of "Human Rights", but nothing too difficult for the world's leading tinpot dictators. Having Jimmy Carter certify your election is one of the qualifiers for the "third world despot club", the other being aid money from the European Union.
Jimmah-democracies the world over have two common characteristics- the first is semi-free elections (not usually involving more than one political party). The other is lip service to a concept of "human rights", which is a nebulous entity which everyone agrees is good, but no one agrees exactly on what's involved. There is a vast disparity in the definition of human rights between industrialised and non-industrialised nations. Industrialised nations seem to be required to set up a high-tax welfare state, whilst non-industrialised states only have to reduce the numbers of dissidents they shoot.
The common thread of so-called "human rights" is that they revolve around the state- they are services provided by the state, rather than things that the state must refrain from interfering with. This is disturbing, as "human rights" do not serve as a buffer against the excesses of the state. Far from it- the "human right" of universal, subsidised health care gives the state leave to regulate everyone's health, as it ends up paying for it.
Of course, until now people in the US have been able to live in a more-or-less true liberal democracy. However, things are about to change. First, it seems that some idiot has decided to make Jimmah chair of the Electoral Reform Commision. In a line straight out of the whacky world of Chris Lim, he says that his Commission will "define an electoral system for the 21st century". Jimmah, along with Tom Daschle, are focusing on "inclusiveness issues", which might lead to Federal Legislation granting felons the right to vote, again bashing the principles of Federalism and overriding state law. Of course, it's no mistake that felons overwhelmingly tend to vote Democrat.
In two more theatres, we find that the Supreme Court is using "emerging trends" and the "overwhelming weight of international opinion" against the practice. Though there is debate whether juveniles can be held responsible, Justice Kennedy's opinion has no place in the Supreme Court. US Law is based on our Constitution and previous jurisprudence, not what the EU thinks of our system of law. Thanks to this precedent, more "international norms" of human rights that are unconstitutional can now be considered and adopted in American Jurisprudence.
Another action that has drawn my ire is the Terry Schaivo case. We're all familiar with the back-story. The courts have taken it upon themselves to introduce Euthanasia as an acceptable practice in the US and have ordered the death of Mme Schiavo, despite the wishes of Mme. Schaivo's parents. As a result, she's being starved to death. That is one of the most horrible ways to die anyone can endure. Perhaps international standards such as the terrifying Groningen Protocols for the Involuntary Euthanasia of Children that allows doctors to Euthanise children with "terrible suffering or incurable disease" up to the age of 18 will guide our future. After all, with human rights your health is under the complete control of the state. If they find it more cost-effective to pump you full of lethal chemicals than keep you alive, it's their prerogative.
More on this phenomenon will follow at a later date.
Now, at last, some happy news. We are currently on our Spring Break, and I have taken advantage of our local shooting range at Beech Fork WMA. I've taken the old Enfield out three times now, and enjoyed a good day's shooting each time. Here is my range report.
First, a primer on the weapons and ammunition used. I took three rifles out to the range.



The rifles are, from left to right, a Winchester Model 61 in .22WRF, Nick's sporterised Mauser Kar98k in 8x57JS, and my very own SMLE No. 4 Mk 1 in .303 British, with spike bayonet.



Here are the three types of ammunition- .22 WRF, 8x57JS, and .303 British. Obviously, .303 British is the best of the three.



Apparently someone wasn't too concerned with cleanup.



My younger brother testing out the Kar98k.



Your humble correspondent with the Enfield.
Shooting went quite well. Here's a target from later in the week:



In honesty, this was a shorter range target, but it wasn't too bad.
To close, a picture of our Axolotl.

An Update- Oh Noes!

Rule of Blogging 742-When certain militant Catholics tell you to update your blog, you know you've been slacking.
I apologise, and as an excuse I can only offer the siren call of my XBox (which now is home to a copy of the superlative "Brothers in Arms") and those paper things that we have to do on occasion in University.
However, now that we're on break and my brother has colonised my XBox thanks to the addictive qualities of "Fable," I can no longer offer excuses.
My blogging is particularly put to shame when one considers the momentous shift that has occurred in the last several weeks. The Lebanon is afire with the desire for liberty and independence. People all over the planet are seeking free elections, and officials on the "Arab Street" are giving in. The middle east of to-day is barely recognisable. Syria is disengaging from the Lebanon. Iraq is picking its own government. Egypt is holding multi-candidate elections. Palestinians grow weary of terrorism and the attacks against Israel. Things which were always thought outside the realm of plausibility have been occurring like an avalanche in the last several months. Some have even labeled this as the "Arab spring," akin to the reforms which swept across the Warsaw Pact nations during the 1960s.
Of course, having my nature, I intend to throw some water on this happy vision. Democratic reforms do not mean democracy, tolerance, or openness. Thought they certainly lead that way, one does not guarantee the other. The ME is still fraught with ignorance, religious fanaticism, and bad governance. A few democratic reforms will not guarantee anything. There's still Iran, a potent and possibly nuclear player. Iran and Hezbollah could cause a great deal of trouble in future.
What do I see? Personally, I see the middle east becoming more or less like South America is now. The nations, by and large, are democratic in some way, but still are home to kleptocracies and favouritism (as all governments are). Where Marxist guerilla movements exist in South America, supported by the likes of "Il Duce Dos" Hugo Chavez, we'll see similar Islamist movements in the ME, supported by Iran and its ilk. Such movements need not be popular, but rather profitable. The FARC in Colombia survives not by its ideology, but rather its profitable connexiones with drug lords and its kidnapping business. The Insurgents in Iraq are already focusing on capturing loud journalists and others, and depending on their home countries to pay multi-million dollar ransoms (like Mmsle Sgrena, a pox be upon her). With this money, they hire the "minutemen" to carry out attacks. The Insurgency is placing bounties on the heads of those they dislike. It seems that the face of the insurgent is not the committed Holy Warrior, but rather common criminals and thugs who are well paid for their efforts. Though the Insurgency and its ilk seem to have lost their major power, they will continue to trouble the authorities in that part of the world.
Of course, this begs the question as to whether post-modern western culture (henceforth ironically titled "the End of History") is superior to Islamist Culture, and whether these nations are doing themselves a favour by tying into it. This, of course, will be meat for a later post.
For now, I'll sign off with the promise of a Range Report from to-day's bout of shooting. It'll be a blast!