From the Arab Spring to the Russian Winter: 2011 in Review

Hi everyone!

Hard to believe it's the end of another year...and what an eventful year 2011 has been. From an international perspective, 2011 brought about waves of tremendous change: from Tunis to Cairo, Tripoli to Damascus, Benghazi to Moscow and beyond, the world witnessed demonstration after demonstration that affirmed and reaffirmed the power of the individual and collective voice to move mountains and bring about positive change. From the Arab Spring to the Russian Winter, it seemed not a day went by when we weren't greeted with incredible scenes of personal courage spurred on by gross government abuse and corruption.

2011 wasn't a good year for dictators. We saw the demise of longtime Libyan strongman and resident crazy Muammar Qaddafi; the overthrow of Egyptian dictator and Western ally Hosni Mubarak; and the fall of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In the midst of all this, we witnessed the deaths of terrorist icon Osama bin Laden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. 2011 ended with the largest anti-government demonstrations in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union and, for the first time in eight years, Prime Minister Putin's iron grip on the Kremlin may be loosening as another round of protests has been called for February.

But there remains a lot to be done. As we count down the final hours to 2012, Syrian President Bashir Assad seems determined to maintain control of his country by any and all means possible. While on the one hand he invites representatives from the Arab League to observe his "compliance" with an international mandate to cut back on the violence with which his government handles the protesters, on the other he sends troops to open fire on peaceful protesters in Hama and Homs a mere two-three blocks away from the Arab League delegation. Innocent Syrian men, women, and children are being mowed down in cold blood while the Arab League observers remark that nothing seems to be out of order. I suppose this isn't surprising when the delegation itself is led by Sudanese General Mustafa al-Dabi who has, no doubt, more than his share of blood on his hands from his work in support of Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir. (Darfur, anyone?)

Unfortunately, things aren't looking so great in Egypt either. The interim military-led government recently launched a series of raids on foreign and domestic NGOs in Cairo, stealing computers and documents and preventing humanitarian aid workers from doing their work. Iran appears to be flexing its muscles again in the wake of threatened sanctions against its banking industry by threatening to cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, thus disrupting the flow and transport of oil to the rest of the world. North Korea continues to assure the smooth transition of power to Kim Jong-il's youngest son Kim Jong-un, who vowed to continue his government's policy of zero cooperation with South Korea. The future is still up-in-the-air in Russia as well. Will Alexei Navalny and the tens of thousands who support him successfully alter the outcome of March's presidential elections? ... or will they and the rest of the democratic world be sorely disappointed?

And, of course, here in the US we face another election year. Will Obama's sadly underwhelming and arguably rather inept four years in office be awarded another term, or will we see the election of Republican Mitt Romney, who would be the nation's first Mormon president? Next week's upcoming Iowa caucus will officially launch the 2012 presidential race.

Hold on, folks...if you thought 2011 was a wild ride, wait till you see 2012!

Ciao.

The Dissident and the Dear Leader

Hi everyone!

How ironic is it that two leaders on opposite ends of the political spectrum should pass away on the same day? I woke up yesterday to news of former Czech president, dissident, and playwright Vaclav Havel's death at the age of 75, and went to bed with the news that North Korean dictator and resident nutcase Kim Jong Il had died on Saturday from "overwork" at the age of 69.

Mr. Havel was a reluctant politician. He is said to have cared initially more about reform within the Communist party than leading his nation through political upheaval. However, under his guidance, Mr. Havel did just that. Without a drop of blood being shed, in 1989 he negotiated the peaceful end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia and then, through two terms as president, he oversaw the split of the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia before leading the Czech Republic into a close alliance with the West that resulted in its joining NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Kim Jong Il, on the other hand, otherwise known as "Dear Leader," ruled a secretive and hermetic police state through a bizarre cult of personality that remains the world's last true Communist holdout. While he dined on French haute cuisine, drank cognac and watched Hollywood films, he also starved millions of his own people, built up its nuclear weapons program, arrested and executed no doubt thousands of dissidents, and generally sought to wreak havoc and instability on the Korean Peninsula for reasons that no one has ever really been able to fathom. Even his closest ally in the region--China--seemed to prefer to distance itself in recent years from its troublesome neighbor. While politicos have been speculating for years about what would happen in the event of the Dear Leader's death, North Korea wasted no time in announcing the succession of his son Kim Jong-um, otherwise known as the...um..."Great Successor," a guy no one knows too much about but who certainly does not appear to have been groomed for political office to the extent his "dear" father had been. Many worry that the Great Successor will instigate some sort of military action as a means of proving his mettle.

It is anyone's guess what will happen in the days/weeks to come, but one thing is likely. I doubt North Korea is heading for political change anytime soon. Kim Jong-um is...um...definitely no Vaclav Havel. And it is equally doubtful the North Korean people will...um... rise up against the Great Successor, at least not based on the videos of mass hysteria and outpourings of grief state-controlled North Korean television has broadcast to the world. (As horrifying as it is, the first time I saw this film I couldn't help but have a big ol' hearty laugh. I mean...seriously? Don't these people realize how ridiculous they look? But then, many of them probably don't know any better...when you've been brainwashed from birth you can't function in any other way. Anyway, I had to share...)

My point is, the North Koreans don't appear to be a people in a position to organize themselves en masse as their brethren in the Middle East have lately done. One can only hope, but I'm not holding my breath. And neither should any of you.

Ciao.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: "Do you think we will see any glimmer of democratic reform in North Korea, or will it be just more of the same?"