The Galley Slave

The Food Chain - Hoarding Nations Drive Food Costs Ever Higher - Series - NYTimes.com

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Look for this situation to worsen if oil prices remain anywhere even close to where they currently are. Frankly, I’m not sure how the agricultural free trade folks are going to make their collective case as things progress, but you can be sure that the developing world will take a big hit. This is one of those points where the green energy lobby misses the mark with the downstream effects of their policies (think biofuel subsidies). How can scoring political points be acceptable when we’re starving a good chunk of the Third World?

Prediction: Drilling in ANWR and in protected offshore areas will be back on the table before the end of the year.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Kenya urges AU to suspend Mugabe

Very interesting. I’m glad to see the AU starting to get serious about Mugabe, but really, it would have been better to see this type of action a few years ago. All of that being said - people need to realize that this is how things work in the Realist Foreign Policy paradigm.

Leader of Zimbabwe Opposition Seeks Refuge - NYTimes.com

This is so NOT funny anymore. It’s good to see South Africa and some other nearby countries finally starting to put pressure on Mugabe, but unfortunately this is years overdue.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Mugabe’s Zanu-PF loses majority

It’s about time. Hopefully, reconciliation both within the country and without can begin in short order. History will not regard Mugabe fondly - he systematically destroyed what was one of Africa’s great success stories.

Hatred, tribalism, and ignorance are most commonly incubated in church. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

Yikes! Hitch takes Obama to the woodshed over his choice of pastor. I saw parts of the Obama’s speech and thought it was a fine piece of oratory, but I had that nagging feeling that he should never have allowed himself to be put in that position in the first place.

BBtv Vlog (Xeni): Tibet’s uprising and the internet - Boing Boing

And the news just gets worse for the Chinese government. As they turn up the fiery rhetoric the Free world - across the political spectrum - has found something that they can agree on and are piling on the pressure. This is the price of playing in the Global Power Game. Checkmate?

Tibetans Clash With Chinese Police in 2nd City - New York Times

Wow, this is the last thing the Chinese government needs right now, especially with the Beijing Olympics just months away and the sympathetic eyes of the world watching their every move. One wonders if it could’ve been orchestrated any better….

Big Wins for Clinton in Texas and Ohio; McCain Is In as G.O.P. Choice - New York Times

Hillary really surprised me with these wins - just a week ago she was practically being left for dead. Obama is now fully under the intense scrutiny of the media (and others), and I suspect is finding the glare a bit daunting. The NAFTA memo leak and other such gaffes will not play well with the masses, especially as the economy tips into recession.
If you’re going to play the populist card, you had better be prepared to do something with it or have your credibility shredded. Lucky for him, he got the better part of a month to kiss and make up with the voting public.

Bush Unveils $3.1 Trillion Spending Plan - New York Times

Oh boy, if you’re an old school Republican, this has got to have you hopping mad. Almost half a trillion dollars in deficit spending for the next two years?! Whoever the next president is, I hope they hide the checkbook.

McCain Is Florida Victor; Giuliani Set to Exit the Race - New York Times

I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to this until late last night, but it played out pretty much the way I thought it would. Guiliani’s heart has just never seemed to be in it. And thankfully, Edwards is out - he was easily the worst of the remaining serious contenders. Short of a meltdown of historic proportions, my prediction is a McCain/Clinton clean sweep on Super Tuesday.