The Face of the Future: Getting to Know Barack

The more I read about Senator Obama the more I like him. Here are a couple ways to get to know the Illinois Senator:

Jacob Weisberg's new article in Men's Vogue.

Obama's Two Books:

1. The Newer of the two: "The Audacity of Hope"

2. His first book, "Dreams From my Father", an autobiogrpahy.

Quote of the Day

"In a country where 'more people believe in angels than they do in evolution,' Democrats would never be able to reach their fellow citizens so long as they continued to insist that religion and politics don't mix."

--Jacob Weisberg in his article on the possible presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Pakistan: An Unreliable Partner

Just in from the New York Times: "Taliban and Allies Tighten Grip in North of Pakistan"

Since retreating from Afghanistan in 2002 under American military attacks, the Taliban and foreign fighters have again been using the tribal areas to organize themselves — now training their sights on the 40,000 American and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

After failing to gain control of the areas in military campaigns, the government cut peace deals in South Waziristan in 2004 and 2005, and then in North Waziristan on Sept. 5. Since the September accord, NATO officials say cross-border attacks by Pakistani and Afghan Taliban and their foreign allies have increased.

Read the rest of the article here.

The U.S. government really needs to re-evaluate its relationship with Pakistan. It is likely that rogue elements of the Pakistani military and the ISI (the intelligence service) continue to support Islamic militants, Afghan insurgents, and terrorists affiliated with Al Qaeda. It is entirely possible that these efforst are in fact sanctioned by the government. Like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan will only support our 'War on Terror' as long as their own fragile peace remains unthreatened. As it is becoming increasingly clear, the truce between the Pakistani government and the Islamic militants camped out in the mountains doesn't look like it will hold out for much longer.

Perhaps we should look at India as a replacement for Pakisan as our strategic ally in South Asia. Our implicit hostility to that country is an obselete holdover from our bitterness at Nehru's policy of "non-alignment" during the Cold War. In almost every respect, we have more in common with India than we do with Pakistan. We would certainly gain a valuable partner in our campaign against Islamic terrorism, as India is intimately familiar with terrorism within its own borders.

-- DAE

Holiday Reflections

''My friends have made the story of my life''

--Helen Keller

''Your wealth is where your friends are''

-- Plautus

First, I would like to apologize for the dearth of posts in the last three days. Over the weekend, David and I were visited by two of our dear friends from home and have taken the time to enjoy their company, and celebrate their arrival, instead of post on the blog. The quotes included at the top of the page are there simply for the sake of reflection as we move into the Holiday Season. This weekend has served to remind me that what is most important in my life are those people hold most dear: my family and my friends. It is often the tendency during this time of year to reflect on how we feel about those around us, and then venture into the New Year having forgotten those sentiments. To put those expressions of our love on the back burner because there is too much other stuff to do. I am as guilty of this as any other.

However, if I may, I will share a very premature New Year's/Holiday resolution with you all. I want to focus more of my attention on making it clear to those around me, those I love, that I value them, not just during December, but all the time. Because when I look at it honestly and practically, what could possibly be more important than that? On this blog, we write about world events, bombings, disasters, political movements, and I believe I speak for all the writers when I say that we believe that this type of conversation and interaction is essential in today's world, otherwise we would not take the time to do this. However, there is only so much we can do in that overwhelming scheme of global events. There is only so much we can control.

What we can control is how we interact with those around us. How we treat those we love, how we change the world that is immediately around us. That is my goal for this year: to understand what I can control and do the best I can to make the most of those parts of my life. I can only hope that I can make my friends feel as loved and as happy as I have felt this weekend.

I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy, and joyous Holiday Season.

--ajc

Practical Matters

There has been an increasing number of comments and suggestions regarding the blog over the past two weeks. It seems as if our readership is slowly, but surely, beginning to grow and we are truly excited about that. Given that, there are a couple of practical matters to be discussed.

1.) There have been multiple inquiries about how to post comments on the blog. Unfortunately, due to an oversight by the Writing Staff the blog had previously disallowed comments from users who were not registered with Blogger or Google. That problem has been remedied. We are sincerely interested in hearing your feedback and your comments/questions. We welcome it. Creating conversation was the purpose of this blog and David, Ruchit and I talking to ourselves does not produce the desired result. We apologize that it has not been as easy as we would have hoped. Here is a quick rundown on how to post a comment on the blog. Please keep in mind that you may also send an e-mail to any of the writers on the staff at their respective scu.edu addresses listed in the right-hand side bar. We will be happy to post reader's responses on the blog, so please feel free to contribute.

To Post a Comment: Navigate down to the end of the post you wish to comment on. On the bottom of the post there is a link that says: ''0 Comments'' (or however many there may be for that post). If you move your mouse over those words, it should become underlined, and if you click on those words, you will be taken to the page that allows you to post a comment. I hope this helpful.

2.) With the holidays rapidly approaching there will not be the normal amount of posts during certain times during the next three weeks. David and I are currently studying in London, and will be leaving to return to the United States this time next week. This means that David and I will be continuing to post throughout the coming week and then will be taking two days off at the beginning of next week to settle back into our homes in America. We will then continue posting throughout the break until after the New Year. We will be moving back down to Santa Clara sometime during the first week in January and this may also affect the number of posts for a few days, but we will soon be settled in and be back to the normal amount. The other member of the Staff is currently on holiday in India, and as such will not be posting for a number of weeks unless he can find internet access.

--ajc