Letter to Gadhafi

Dear Muammar,

We've had some good times. I'll never forget sticking it to those bloody thirsty imperialist Americans. Blowing up that plane in Scotland gave us a sense of pride. We wouldn't be dictated to by the powers that be.

But things have changed recently. Forty two years is a long time. And you're not as young as you used to be. You don't look like when we first met. We wanted something new. Yet, you couldn't handle that. You've decided to beat us. You won't let go.

Muammar, it's over. Let's break on amicable terms. Let's always remember the good times and forget about the torture and oppression. Muammar, if you're love is real, it's time to let go.

Sincerely,

The Libyan People

Picking on the Big Countries

Except for the massacre of a staggeringly sad number of Hutu refugees as retribution for the genocide of Tutsis, I like that a tiny country like Rwanda swept through a giant one like the former Zaire and decided the run things.

It's fun when a small country pushes a big one around. If I was a little country, I'd punch a big country in the face right now!

Foreign Intervention of Congo

Often it is argued that people get the leaders they deserve. Not so for the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been victimized by foreign aggression, particularly from the West, since the colonial period.

Belgium ran Congo in a brutally autocratic manner. Africans were repressed to the point where they were not ready to assume the responsibilities of independence when it came in 1960. There were fewer than 20 African college graduates in Congo at the time of independence.

Belgium hoped to continue to extract resources from Congo as was the case during the colonial period. So, Belgium supported Moise Tshombe and the secession of the mineral-rich state of Katanga. Belgium was responsible for the death of nationalist Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who was killed in Katanga with top Katangese and Belgian officials present. The U.S. also wanted Lumumba dead, even plotting to poison his toothpaste, but ultimately responsibility lies with Belgium and Katanga.

After a botched UN attempted to settle the Congo Crisis and bring Katanga back into the fold, resulting in mass murder, the U.S. supported Mobutu's coup in 1965. For the next 32 years, Mobutu led an autocratic kleptocracy with the backing of the U.S. The international financial institutions continuously gave Mobutu, who changed the name of the country to Zaire, tons of money, which he and his minions promptly stole. Without the support of the U.S. and the IFIs, it is difficult to see how Mobutu would have stayed in power so long.

Rwanda and Uganda invaded Congo in 1997 in the hopes of removing Mobutu. The Tutsi-led Rwandan government feared attacks from Hutu extremists, responsible for the 1994 genocide, stationed on the border. Uganda also invaded because of security concerns. Both countries hoped to exploit the resource wealth in Congo. They propped up a rebel group, the ADFL, led by Laurent Kabila, which swept across the country to the capital of Kinshasa in no time. Kabila changed the name of the nation to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

When Kabila turned his back on his Tutsi allies, Rwanda and Uganda staged another invasion. Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia came to Kabila's defense for various reasons. These two Congo wars are considered Africa's first world wars. France's nefarious role in Africa was exposed once again when it attempted to back Mobutu at the end of his reign.

This sustained foreign intervention in Congo has led to nothing but devastation and death.
(more at The HQT-IE)

George Mason

Mason has been a slow starting team in most of their games this season. If the game is close in the first half, there's a good chance that Mason will win easily when the second half comes around. In the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament, Georgia State took a double digit lead in the first and were still blown out. Mason ran out of steam against VCU today in the semis after trailing big early.

While Mason doesn't have a player who would've started on the '06 team, they do have a balanced attack and a deeper bench. Those are two reasons why Mason tends to struggle early and thrive late. It takes time to figure out who has the hot hand. There isn't an obvious go to player on each possession. But the opposing team is worn down having to focus on all five Patriots on the floor. It doesn't help that Mason has a couple of guys on the bench talented enough to start.

Size is a problem. But Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison up front play bigger than they are. Luke Hancock is the Folarin Campbell-type player. He's a good ball-handling forward who also rebounds fairly well. Cam Long is the best player. Andre Cornelius is the spark. I didn't like sixth man Isaiah Tate's game when he first came to the team. He'd constantly make the wrong play at the right time. He's the opposite player now. He's a glue guy who always comes up with a rebound, a steal, or a bucket when the team needs it most.

The team's win streak, the nation's longest, was snapped earlier today. All they need is to start another six game winning streak the rest of the way.

Hank Gathers

Today, as is customary on March 4, I went out and shot a left-handed free throw in honor of Hank Gathers, just as Bo Kimble did 21 years ago.

Hank was not a perfect person; no one is. But he was man who did what he loved and always gave it his best effort. In that sense, Hank was an inspiration and should not be forgotten. Shooting a left-handed free throw is one way to acknowledge that he hasn't been.

Doug Fischer and Golden Boy

Ring Magazine writer Doug Fischer becomes very angry when you question his objectivity about Golden Boy Promotions. The Ring, boxing's preeminent publication, is owned by Golden Boy. There's no doubt that a it's a conflict of interest. To argue otherwise is ludicrous.

But, this isn't a matter of national security; it's boxing. Many pro sports teams own their own networks that hire the announcers who cover the team. The Nats fired announcer Rob Dibble last summer after he merely criticized pitcher Stephen Strasburg for not pitching through an injury (Strasburg needed Tommy John surgery and Dibble was generally incompetent, but that's beside the point).

I always took Fischer at his word that his reporting was influenced by literally being on Golden Boy's payroll. But a recent comment changed my perception. In the comment section of this weekend's preview, someone named Migs Arte wrote at 1:04 pm, "Golden Boy Promotion suck monkey nuts."

Now, most people would just ignore the comment as an inarticulate vent from someone with an unexplained disdain for Golden Boy Promotions. Not Doug Fischer. For some reason, he took it personal. Ten minutes later Fischer commented, "Kiss my ass, Migs." Very professional.

You have to ask, why would a boxing writer take a diss directed at a promotional company as a personal insult? It is odd.

Middle Eastern Revolutionary

I'd like to be a Middle Eastern revolutionary right now. I don't care so much about freedom or democracy; I just like yelling.

If I was in a Middle Eastern capital right now, I would be downtown, screaming my head off with all the other people trying to cast off the straps of oppression. But I would be shouting absurd and inane things. "I like Cheetos!" and "Except for the orange dust left on your fingers after you eat Cheetos!" and "They should do something about that orange dust!"

Eventually, I'd get tired of yelling nonsensical sentences during such a profound protest. So, I would offer my ability translate the demands of other screaming protestors to the cable news networks.. The only problem is I don't speak Arabic.

So, I'll just make it up. "This man is Muhammad the barber from Cairo. He says that he is very angry. He hates when people bypass a line of cars waiting to enter the highway and dive in at the front. He says, your time is not more valuable than mine. He says, if Mubarak doesn't stop this phenomenon, the streets will run red with blood."

Paying Full Price

My fellow citizens, I want to thank you for leaving Liberation Quadrilateral, so that we can try and renovate it into a Square. I can't stand those Bahrainiacs laughing at us. You see, dolling out $20 to each protestor and utilizing a gang of spontaneously hired thugs are two ways to quell protests.

As you surely remember, I decreed last Thursday that my book, The Tiny Teal Book, would be 20% off. Many of you took advantage of the sale to purchase the mandatory work of genius the New Yorker called, "Certainly, it is in book form, the cover is teal, and it is tiny."

What you clearly forgot was that it is a felony to buy it for less than full price. I apologize for my apparent deception, but it was necessary to weed out the frugal followers from the truly devoted. Now, here are more excerpts from the book.

Quotations from The Tiny Teal Book
"Lonely criminals break the law just so they can be wanted."

"When you protest against your leader, you are really just protesting against yourself."

"Democracy is a lot like women, I tend to rape them both."

"I have a dream that one day little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and accept the will of their oppressor. I have a dream today!"

"I fancy curvaceous posteriors and I shall not fib."

The Curious Case of Belize's Independence

Belize gained independence from Britain, its colonial overseer, in 1981. The independence movement in Belize, which had its first seeds planted in the wake of a devastating hurricane in 1931 in which the British government did not provide adequate assistance, truly began in 1950 when the British devalued the Belize dollar.

So why did Belize miss the wave of independence that swept across Africa and Asia throughout the 1950s and 1960s? The reason was that Guatemala claimed the entirety of Belize as its own. If the British withdrew, Guatemala's powerful U.S.-backed military would sweep into Belize and take the land for its own.

The dispute began in the wake of an 1859 treaty between Britain and Guatemala. Britain believed the treaty was of a boundary variety while the Guatemalans believed it was one of cession. Britain wanted to grant Belize, called British Honduras before 1973, independence, but was willing to cede some land to Guatemala to quell any impetus for invasion.

Belize's leaders, such as George Price, demanded independence with the entirety of Belize in tact. They also wanted a sustained British defense guarantee. The British were reluctant to defend the Belizeans against a potential Guatemalan invasion.

Finally, through a policy of gaining support from such international organizations as CARICOM and the non-aligned movement, Price was able to convince Britain to grant full independence to Belize and guard its sovereignty in 1981. Though the Guatemalan land claim issue has been sidelined, even now, it isn't closed.
(More at The HQT- IE)

Amar'e vs. Carmelo

I must admit that I wasn't thrilled when the Knicks signed Amar'e. I felt a little better when he turned out to be a Jew. I felt even better when he turned out to be a better player than I expected.

I continue to be impressed with Amar'e. Watch the interview he and Carmelo did with ESPN today. When asked about bringing a championship to New York, look at the reactions of Amar'e and Carmelo. Carmelo says, "It's my job," behind a well-placed smile. You get the feeling Carmelo would've given the same answer if he was in Minnesota. It was a rehearsed response.

Amar'e's was not. His eyes sparkled thinking about the prospect of a Knicks championship. I know that expression. As a teenager, I remember making the same face upon dreaming of a potential title for the Knicks. Amar'e gets it. Carmelo doesn't... yet.

Further proof that Amar'e gets it comes from tonight's game against Miami. Amar'e took just 14 shots. He made 8 for an efficient shooting night. Amar'e sacrificed his numbers for the good of the team. He added the game-saving block of LeBron late in the fourth quarter. Carmelo had a good game. But he still only shot 10-22 from the field, his best as a Knick. He's now 29-69 with the Knicks in three games, a 42.0% mark. He has only six total assists. Thank G-d for Chauncey Billups!