Author: Graham J.

A Brief Study in Hyperbole

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Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan at Camp David, 1984.

Yesterday I took part in an in-class debate on which was the more ‘special’ relationship: Churchill and Roosevelt, Macmillan and Kennedy, or Thatcher and Reagan? I was assigned to the Thatcher-Reagan team.

I took it upon myself to write an opening statement, and it follows. Bear in mind I wrote this in approximately 30 minutes (including edits and rewrites). Then you can decide: did I actually say anything at all? Or did I just make it sound like I did? In other words, where’s the beef?

Since revolution tore the two asunder, and the White House burned in 1812, the United States and United Kingdom have enjoyed an extraordinary partnership unrivaled by anyone in the world – a “special” relationship.

The relationship has waxed and waned over the years, but never was it stronger or more dynamic than the Thatcher-Reagan era of the 1980s. Bound together by mutual respect and admiration, cultural affinity, and a shared commitment to western values, the special relationship between the Gipper and the Iron Lady was forged in history and sealed with blood. Through war and in peace, America and Britain held fast at home and abroad with Reagan and Thatcher at the helm.

From the windswept south Atlantic to the skies above Libya, Reagan and Thatcher were partners amidst a sea of troubles. Politically like-minded like to pair before them, they successfully navigated the shoals of the Cold War and brought the Soviet Union to its knees. Together they restored a sense of national pride to their respective countries and returned the special relationship to its lofty pedestal.

Personally, politically, diplomatically, and militarily, Reagan and Thatcher were exceptionally close. Maintaining a solid front publicly, they never hesitated to disagree in private, always constructively and without hint of animosity. Anglo-American relations, NATO, and indeed the west itself were and continue to be rejuvenated by their remarkable friendship; and nothing less than the whole of humanity has been the beneficiary of Thatcher and Reagan’s truly special relationship.

I like the lofty rhetoric I came up with, but methinks the substantive portion leaves something to be desired. And that’s ignoring what I actually think about the merits of the argument.

Time Flies

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After only three months here, I’ve written 100 posts! (this being the 101st). I’m pleased with myself just for the near-regular output, and for finally finding an outlet to get some things off my chest. Otherwise I’d just be ranting to friends all the time.

I’m also glad so many of you are reading and enjoying Automatic Ballpoint. Since post #1 on December 6, 2009, there have been over 3,500 views of the site, and that’s a number I’m both proud of and hope to see grow. The most visitors in a day here were 131 on January 13th – presumably when I posted “Antisemitism, Dissent, and the LSE.” That same post is the most-viewed of all time, with “The London School of Embarassment” in second. Apparently you guys like that I’m reporting on the wave of intolerance and extremism in Britain, London, and LSE itself, and I’ll do my best to keep that up.

The “For Love of Country” series also seems to have been well-received. I’m hoping to adapt some other longer essays (mostly history) and put them up soon. Such gems to come include some alternate history on Hitler’s invasion of Switzerland, an overview of the Chinese navy, a little more in-depth exploration of the French in Africa, and a whole mess of stuff on the special relationship. Stay tuned; stay subscribed.

My apologies that this week has been a little thin. We’re hurtling towards the end of term much faster than I’d realized, and so I’ll be trying to finish everything in time. Don’t worry, though, this site isn’t going anywhere. And I hope none of you are either. Thanks so much for reading.

Another Canary

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Smoke billowed from a seven-story building after a small private plane crashed into a building that houses an office of the federal tax agency in Austin, Tex.

The Metro Gunman – John Patrick Bedell –  who shot two policemen at the Pentagon metro station on Thursday, is the second anti-government terrorist to attack in as many weeks. Joe Stack was the first. While their respective manifestos differ in focus, they share a number of common elements that indicates there is more to come. Bedell is more of a conspiracy theorist (particularly harping on James Sadow, the marine killed in 1991) and wanted to establish “the truth of events such as the September 11 demolitions.”

We haven’t reached critical mass yet, but we’re getting there. Stack and now Bedell are each a “canary in the coal mine,” as John Robb puts it. He lays out three main drivers for this kind of terrorism: extreme frustration/hopelessness, few mitigating influences, and rage and a loss of government legitimacy. And while Stack and Bedell do have their differences, the crucial part is that they both came to the same conclusion.

Continue reading →

Thinning the Ranks

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From the Sunday Times:

Britain’s special forces have suffered the worst blow to their fighting strength since the second world war, with 80 members killed or crippled in Afghanistan.

Serious injuries have left more than 70 unable to fight, while 12 have been killed. It means the forces have lost about a sixth of their full combat capacity.

The Sunday Times has established that the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Squadron (SBS) have mounted “several hundred” operations targeting Taliban leaders since 2007.

This, to say the least, is not good. Especially when the focus of a modern military should be more oriented towards special operations forces and the like. But seeing as the total strength of the SAS and SBS combined is less than 500, clearly the units need expansion, as long as that can be done without jeopardizing their character and expertise.

But then again, why aren’t all units getting more SOF-type training? Budgets aside, of course.

Airwaves? What Airwaves?

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Just ahead of Oscar night, word comes that Disney is pulling the ABC channel from Cablevision – affecting about 3 million subscribers in the New York-New Jersey area. ABC is, of course, scheduled to broadcast the Academy Awards tonight.

I’m in no way affected by this, be it living in New York, a Cablevision subscriber, or a religious Oscar aficionado, but this is still pretty outrageous. If you subscribe to cable, you’re now denied access to a theoretically public access channel. ABC may no longer broadcast in analog, but it still does in digital – across frequencies in the public spectrum, which have been leased from the public (and which existing analog broadcasters were able to obtain licenses for without an auction).

Of course, the former obligations that stations using public airwaves were held – such as the “fairness doctrine” – have been allowed to lapse. No one is required to do much of anything anymore, save not broadcasting ‘filth’ and ‘obscenities’. But worse is that millions of people are denied access to a station in the public spectrum over a billion-dollar dispute. I know, I know, theoretically everyone could go out and buy an over-the-air broadcast converter, but how many of those do you think are in stock in the New York metro area?

Nobody at all wins here.

Recommended Reading (2010-03-07) – SUNDAY Edition

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Bank of England, Liverpool Street, showing all of the City of london with Tower Bridge at upper right.

– Medvedev is displeased with the apparent lack of progress. Russian military to double their efforts. Putin will not be as forgiving as Medvedev is.

– Newsflash: water runs downhill. Why America supports Israel.

– Greece continues to head towards imminent collapse. Some German MPs are calling for Greece to sell off a few lesser islands, the Acropolis, and the Parthenon. Meanwhile, the Greek citizenry cannot cope with a sacrifice – higher taxes or spending cuts (or both) are the only way to recovery. Do they even know what they’re protesting in favor of? (via Shloky). The U.S. is soon to face the same problem.

– An unbelievable tale about the attempt to save one soldier’s life, courtesy of Michael Yon. Complete with fancy infographic.

– Regardless of what party wins the British elections, Gordon Brown will almost certainly not be prime minister.

– The ultimate case for prison as rehabilitation.

– I like having comments here (even if they’re underutilized). Not everyone is quite so lucky, as Theodore Dalrymple explains in “Thank You for Not Expressing Yourself.”

Attack of the Caspian Sea Monster!

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The ekranoplan rusting in its berth, 2010.

If you’ve never heard of the Russian ekranoplan, here’s what you need to know. A ground effect plane that flies only a few yards above water (right, it’s also a water-plane, I forgot to mention), the one-off ekranoplan was an ingenious attempt by the Russians to solve… some problem they’d come up with, presumably. It was retired in the early 90s.

Recently, some intrepid photographer found the ekranoplan in drydock, and has taken a number of pictures (along with a photoessay in Russian) so you can see the magnificent beast in all its glory.

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Via War is Boring.

Recommended Reading (2010-03-05)

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(via Shloky).

– It’s Strategic Decision Making Exercise time yet again at the Army War College. Mark Grimsley wanders the halls and reports.

– Boeing’s new KC-X will officially be a competitor for the Air Force’s tanker replacement program. Built on a 767, it can’t look like anything but a civilian plane, try as they might with the grey drab paint job.

– Has anyone else noticed an increasing disconnect between the mainstream media and the reality-based community? Even parts of the MSM itself are starting to pick up on this (but it won’t be far-reaching or fast enough a discovery to really change anything).

– I would really like to commit a crime in Norway. Though it’s equally possible that by the time I get to Halden my life turns into an O. Henry story.

– More on the decline of Germany and the rise of the uber-left.

Rethinking the U.S.

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Chirol, long-time blogger at Coming Anarchy, has struck out on his own and started a new blog, Rethinking the United States.  He plans to cover a lot of ground, mostly serving to answer the question “does the United States serve its purpose?” His welcome post lists the topics to be covered as:

sustainability, autonomy, devolution, decentralization, political identity and loyalty,  political organization, self organization, superempowerment, technology, resilience in general and resilient communities.

Other related and more directly political topics and of great personal interest to the author will be Libertarianism, civil liberties, small government and firearms though they will almost always come back to the topic at hand.

Sounds like a perfect synthesis of stuff that I’m interested in. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with.

Recommended Reading (2010-03-04)

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– The US Postal Service may have to make some severe service cuts, including ending Saturday delivery. As long as they don’t go on strike, I’ll be fine with it (via GOOD).

– The U.S. is facing a “surge” of rightwing extremist and milita groups to the tune of 250%. It makes one long for the Clinton years, when the fringe movements weren’t legitimized by Glenn Beck, CPAC, and the Teabaggers.

– Armored trains are back on track in Russia. But based on where most IEDs are in Russia (the railroad system), are the trains really MRAP?

– Galrahn at Information Dissemination gives a brief overview of ‘AirSea Battle’. As he points out though, it may be nothing more than “a new wine in old barrels,” and in most ways it sounds like, well, Air Force-Navy cooperation. Just with a catchy name.

– Even the upstart kid-gangs in Mexico are getting ballsy. But unfortunately for them, the existing cartels probably won’t take too kindly to this.