The 3 Amigos

I’m convinced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran and Kim Jim Il, ruler of North Korea are in regular contact. Both nations never test fire nuclear missiles simultaneously. It’s either one or the other but never together. I think they alternate firing missiles to distract the world. For e.g when the EU and America hound Iran to accept inspectors to review their nuclear program, North Korea fires a few missiles into the Sea of Japan to distract the west away from Iran and ease the pressure. Iran returns the favor when the West begins hounding North Korea, by launching a couple of missiles. Coincidence or deliberate & calculated coordination? I don’t know but I find it interesting that both countries don’t ever fire their test missiles at the same time. I’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist so I tend to over-analyze when there is not much to analyze.

The circle is incomplete without Senor Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. He has many nicknames but one in particular is “La Cucaracha”. Not only is it the title of a popular drinking song, it is also the name of an exceptionally useless and annoying insect, the cockroach. This is a former paratrooper who has essentially taken over Venezuela and threatens to turn this once thriving, oil rich South American nation into another despot dominated country. If you recall, Chavez called then President Bush, El Diablo (the Devil) at a UN meeting a couple of years ago. His exact words were along the lines of “the devil was just here and I can still smell sulfur”. While Bush was certainly very unpopular and not well liked by many member nations, the utter lack of class displayed by Chavez who was supposed to be head of state representing his country at the UN, cost him a seat on the coveted security-council. A huge blow for a man who lobbied very hard to get it….Of course he blamed it on American meddling but many pro-Chavez nations voted against him; unusual, considering these voting countries had nothing to gain from opposing Chavez and in fact had poor relations with the US. One can only assume that many ambassadors were put off by the coarseness of his conduct. Had he put a lock on his lips and threw away the keys into one of his state owned oil-wells, he may well have succeeded in winning the prized seat……

The annual UN general assembly meeting is coming up next week. Leaders from all over the world descend on New York City ready to discuss problems of the world and offer up solutions and remedies. To me, it's like a giant photo opportunity and a chance for politicians to do what they do best; sit around tables and engage in endless dialogue…At the end of discussions, there is little consensus. Certainly not enough to craft real solutions to move the process forward but it happens every year. Big headlines, big promises, lots of hope but ultimately very little to show for by way of concrete, definable action. For all the fanfare, pomp and show, I always marvel at how much money politicians spend on private jets, fancy hotels, expensive meals and security detail just to attend events like these. All courtesy of tax dollars and if there is anything politicians enjoys more then staying in power forever, it’s spending tax dollars.…