As most of you may know I have been following politics and the news for years. Of my favorite pass times talking about politics rates up near the top. Though it holds a distant second place to spending time with my wife. So I have created a forum where I can discuss these issues while still being around her.
What I have found after moving to Chicago is that my life is by leaps and bounds better then any other time in my life. It is by far easier then my childhood with its shifting landscapes. The one thing that I have been lacking is a place to discuss the ideas that I have day to day about the political arena and issues that I feel have been sorely over looked.
The issues that interest me as of late are globalization, popular culture and its impact on politics, of course the economy and hopefully solutions to it. I am not saying I have the answers to any of these ideas just that this is a space for me to discuss them.
These Issues will of course change over time. With the things that I read and watch peaking my interests I will address them.
I hope that this blog starts conversations and discussions, and looking forward to hearing from everyone.
About Me
- Tim Graff
- 25 year old college grad. Currently working at a book store and looking for an opening in the non-profit or government field.
I don't know where else to put this, so I shall place it here. I've been watching North Korea for a while now. I've wanted them to have a war for a while now. Wait, let me rephrase that. I want them to END this war they've been having. Tensions have flared since the conservative, not-Sunshine president of South Korea was elected. The North Koreans have been saber-rattling and making pointed jabs ever since: closing the shared-economic zones, cancelling SK tourism, even rejecting food aid (holy crap!).
ReplyDeleteOf all the hotspots, this one's keeping me on my toes. Burma isn't making headlines anymore. They had their uprising, it failed, they're not a political problem for the US, so we ignore them. Thailand had it's boat-people thing, and that's done. Has ANYTHING happened in Indonesia? NK is different. It's a boiling pot, waiting to overflow. The question I have is, will China take its side?
When the 1990s happened, China didn't change. The Soviet Union was their enemy, the US was kinda its enemy, and all the juicy tiny countries around it were claimed by either. This continues to be the case. NK, however, has always been China's tiny friend. More importantly, it has been a buffer zone between them and SK (and the United States, in particular), much like Mongolia is for Russia. China want them there because they like China (well, most of the time. They like China when they're not bipolaring.) But things have changed.
North Korea has been embarrassing China. They're a relations vaccum, taking a lot of soft power to maintain but giving only buffer-potential in return. At least Mongolia is stable...and has goats. If and when the war hits, will China join them as they did in the 1970s (I think)? I'm going to give a tentative "no" and here's why.
China likes the US now. They hate them on paper, but in economics, they love the heck out of us. We're a damn safe investment for a LOT of the money they've been making. We are a huge portion of their exports. Without the US, China's economy will fumble. A fumbling, noticeably and distinctly fumbling, economy will mean rebellion. My bet? China will be a "partial observer." "We condemn the heinous actions the US and SK are taking in NK and demand that they stop immediately." They'll huff and blow, but if SK wins and become "just K", they'll sell K crap just like they used to. More so, really.
One other political musing I had of late: President Obama is THE MAN for reaching to the Muslim nations. Okay, tell me if I'm wrong, but I felt that Bush had relatively antagonistic feel to him. He wasn't holding out his hand for fellowship with the Iranians or the Turks or what have you. Sometimes I wonder if he had one more year, he'd try to take out Iran and leave that in some other guy's hands...but I digress.
ReplyDeleteBarack Hussein Obama. He isn't Muslim, no matter what some grandparents might say, but he was raised in a Muslim school in Indonesia. His father was a Muslim (a bad one, but again, I digress). And he's not a crazy-Texan-hawkish-Westernizing-Democracy fiend. I love his soft power ways. They soothe me when I fear living outside the States.