Author Archives: John Bolan
Israel or Bust!
On May 31, 2010, a Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla intersected Israeli naval ships. The account of this event differs depending upon which news source you read; either the spiteful Israeli navy savagely brutalized humanitarian relief workers looking to transport goods to Gaza or the demonstrators aboard the Mavi Marma (the Turkish ship) reacted in violence to said navy [1] upon denying a request to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod, where the Israeli navy hoped to inspect the cargo carried on board. [Note: if there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of Israel’s actions towards the Turkish flotilla, be sure to take a look at The Naval Warfare Publication regarding The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations”i.] Instead of orating some concession of affirmation regarding the Israeli navy’s choice of engagement with said Turkish flotilla, the current U.S. administration chose to tote the line carried by the likes of the United Nations – namely neglecting to conduct an in-depth investigation into the matter before severely admonishing Israel’s alleged poor behavior in blindly attacking those aboard the Mavi Marma – and relinquishing the opportunity to demonstrate a proper response to this event. Continue reading
How to Keep Iran Out of the Nuclear Game
A common disciplinary measure against ‘rogue’ nations or, more specifically, nations that operate counter to international orthodoxy, is the placement of sanctions. One such nation, Iran, is exemplary of such a measure. Regardless of whether or not Iran is a rogue nation having many sanctions placed against it, do these sanctions really work or do they only feed the flame of resentment and hostility against the participatory nations? Given the events (or lack thereof) of recent months on the part of Iran, the answer suggests that sanctions do more harm than intended – to the dismay of those favoring the coalition of the willing. Continue reading
China Plays Dominoes Well
History is marked by a series of conflicts – kinetic and potential; Chinese activities in Central Asia are exemplary of this. On December 14, 2009, Turkmenistan began its exportation of 40 billion cubic meters (bcm hereafter) of natural gas to the Chinese Xinjiang Province, with contributions of 10 bcm from both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan over 30 years. Historically, Turkmenistan has exported gas through Russia en route to China yet this particular deal conveniently bypasses Russia. To complicate matters more, the European Union shares an interest in this region vis-à-vis their Nabucco gas line planned to run through southern Europe into Turkey. Needless to say that while much commotion is made over oil and gas bonanzas in the Middle East these days, nations like Turkmenistan and other central Asian countries have untapped oil and gas reserves and naturally stand as open targets as both potential trading partners and secondary allies for nations such as China, whose intentions are altogether unknown. As such, the benevolent guise of trade very easily becomes the hook by which nations such as China are able to rally seemingly insignificant states to their side. In essence, while the powerful nations of today are playing hard politics in the Middle East, China is playing soft politics in Central Asia as a precursor to the domino effect in that region with Turkmenistan as the battlefield for trading rights.
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Homeownership: Good for You, Better for Me
In the market-driven economy of today, quid-pro-quo is often (if not entirely) the modus operandi. Unfortunately, not all transactions are fair in that the “benefit” one party receives is in fact harmful to them either immediately or over time. In drafting and eventually passing the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, the United States Congress set the American people on the fast-track to homeownership by strong-arming banks into offering home mortgages to minorities and low-income groups. Questions of legitimacy, a false sense of security and a dubious backhanded attempt at further controlling the American people come into question in addition to whether or not homeownership is a ‘right.’ Continue reading