Ukraine, Nuclear Weapons And Japan

A little over a month ago, I posted a reflection on the danger of failing to live up to the international security guarantee the nuclear powers gave to Ukraine in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal.

Today's New York Times article reporting Japanese concerns over the U.S. reaction to Russian takeover of the Crimea should, therefore, come as no surprise. The article makes it clear that failure to carry out the security guarantee to Ukraine not only complicates efforts at nuclear non-proliferation, it also complicates conventional diplomacy.

It is a bit reminiscent of the inter war diplomacy of France. After World War I, France signed a guarantee to defend the independence and territorial integrity of Czechoslovakia. But France lacked a common border with Czechoslovakia and besides that, had built a vast fixed fortress (the Maginot Line) and a military designed to operate behind that line. How were they to come to the aid of Czechoslovakia if necessary?

It created a mismatch between miltary planning and diplomatic efforts. In the end, it didn't work.

I would hope we have learned something useful in the intervening eighty years.

WHO Says America Has The Best Healthcare System?

Actually WHO doesn't say that. The World Health Organization ranks the health care systems of its members.

WHO's on first?

France.

We're number 37!

Here's the list:

World Health Organization Ranking; The World’s Health Systems

1 France 2 Italy 3 San Marino 4 Andorra 5 Malta 6 Singapore 7 Spain 8 Oman 9 Austria 10 Japan 11 Norway 12 Portugal 13 Monaco 14 Greece 15 Iceland 16 Luxembourg 17 Netherlands 18 United Kingdom 19 Ireland 20 Switzerland 21 Belgium 22 Colombia 23 Sweden 24 Cyprus 25 Germany 26 Saudi Arabia 27 United Arab Emirates 28 Israel 29 Morocco 30 Canada 31 Finland 32 Australia 33 Chile 34 Denmark 35 Dominica 36 Costa Rica 37 USA 38 Slovenia 39 Cuba 40 Brunei 41 New Zealand 42 Bahrain 43 Croatia 44 Qatar 45 Kuwait 46 Barbados 47 Thailand 48 Czech Republic 49 Malaysia 50 Poland 51 Dominican Republic 52 Tunisia 53 Jamaica 54 Venezuela 55 Albania 56 Seychelles 57 Paraguay 58 South Korea 59 Senegal 60 Philippines 61 Mexico 62 Slovakia 63 Egypt 64 Kazakhstan

65 Uruguay 66 Hungary 67 Trinidad and Tobago 68 Saint Lucia 69 Belize 70 Turkey 71 Nicaragua 72 Belarus 73 Lithuania 74 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 75 Argentina 76 Sri Lanka 77 Estonia 78 Guatemala 79 Ukraine 80 Solomon Islands 81 Algeria 82 Palau 83 Jordan 84 Mauritius 85 Grenada 86 Antigua and Barbuda 87 Libya 88 Bangladesh 89 Macedonia 90 Bosnia-Herzegovina 91 Lebanon 92 Indonesia 93 Iran 94 Bahamas 95 Panama 96 Fiji 97 Benin 98 Nauru 99 Romania 100 Saint Kitts and Nevis 101 Moldova 102 Bulgaria 103 Iraq 104 Armenia 105 Latvia 106 Yugoslavia 107 Cook Islands 108 Syria 109 Azerbaijan 110 Suriname 111 Ecuador 112 India 113 Cape Verde 114 Georgia 115 El Salvador 116 Tonga 117 Uzbekistan 118 Comoros 119 Samoa 120 Yemen 121 Niue 122 Pakistan 123 Micronesia 124 Bhutan 125 Brazil 126 Bolivia 127 Vanuatu

128 Guyana 129 Peru 130 Russia 131 Honduras 132 Burkina Faso 133 Sao Tome and Principe 134 Sudan 135 Ghana 136 Tuvalu 137 Ivory Coast 138 Haiti 139 Gabon 140 Kenya 141 Marshall Islands 142 Kiribati 143 Burundi 144 China 145 Mongolia 146 Gambia 147 Maldives 148 Papua New Guinea 149 Uganda 150 Nepal 151 Kyrgystan 152 Togo 153 Turkmenistan 154 Tajikistan 155 Zimbabwe 156 Tanzania 157 Djibouti 158 Eritrea 159 Madagascar 160 Vietnam 161 Guinea 162 Mauritania 163 Mali 164 Cameroon 165 Laos 166 Congo 167 North Korea 168 Namibia 169 Botswana 170 Niger 171 Equatorial Guinea 172 Rwanda 173 Afghanistan 174 Cambodia 175 South Africa 176 Guinea-Bissau 177 Swaziland 178 Chad 179 Somalia 180 Ethiopia 181 Angola 182 Zambia 183 Lesotho 184 Mozambique 185 Malawi 186 Liberia 187 Nigeria 188 Democratic Republic of the Congo 189 Central African Republic 190 Myanmar

Source: World Health Organization

In Memory Of John Knauth

Our friend John Knauth died last month. John was an important member of this community for many years and contributed much to our welfare. He was also a dedicated and visible member of the County Democratic Party. I am taking the liberty of quoting today's Town Dock's article:

"If you called 911 here in Oriental a few years back, chances are John Knauth would’ve come to your door, his EMT kit in hand. He was part of Oriental’s First Responders, which was a continuation of the volunteering he’d done in Connecticut. In retirement here, John also helped get the Pamlico Musical Society going. And was on the Pamlico Arts Council and active with the Pamlico Amateur Radio Society. As we write this, we’re certain we’re leaving something out.

"John and his wife Ilona Forgeng moved from Oriental to New Bern a few years ago. John died there last month and this Saturday their families and friends are gathering at the Unitarian Church in New Bern to remember him. That’s from 4-7p on April 5 at 308 Meadows Street."

We'll be there.

Elections For Sale To The Wealthiest And Most Powerful

The US Supreme Court earlier today ruled in McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission that FEC ceilings on how much money a wealthy donor can donate to political campaigns are unconstitutional. Today's ruling completes the coup by the Supreme Court of the United States begun with their ruling in Bush v Gore in 2000. It was hard in 2000 to explain to voters that the most important issue in that election was "who gets to appoint Supreme Court justices for the next four or eight years." Justice Sandra Day O'Connor understood this when she heard the networks had called Florida for Gore and immediately commented "that's terrible." Now America's elections are blatantly for sale to the highest bidder. Unless voters catch on. The vote is all we have now, and in NC the GOP is doing its best to impede the franchise.

Lincoln's statement that "government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish...." has been replaced by "government of the wealthy by the wealthy and for the wealthy." 

Get out and vote. Let the lackeys of excessive wealth in our legislatures, Congress and Governor's mansions spend more time with their families!

Cox v Town Of Oriental

Oriental's Town Attorney, Scott Davis, updated the Board on the status of my suit against the Town. In a nutshell: the Court of Appeals hearing by a three-judge panel is docketed for April 23. There will be no oral arguments. It may be a couple of months more before we hear the results.

Town Of Oriental - Town Board Meeting April 1, 2014

Good Town Board meeting tonight. Everyone got to meet the new Town Manager - Diane Miller. My assessment: we are lucky to have her.

As for the Board, they did well. Tonight was the first quasi-judicial hearing by this board.

Just a suggestion - I think it is generally a bad idea for Town Board members to sit in on Planning Board meetings, especially meetings reviewing permit applications. Best to do that business at arm's length.

The Navy Way: USS Houston, April 1 1944

As April began, USS Houston (CL-81) was preparing to be deployed to the Pacific. Over the next weeks and months I will try to explain what was involved. 'Round the clock work, training, and cramming stuff into storerooms.

Years ago I concluded that the world would be a better place, at least more effective, if it were run like the Navy. I will explain later. But at least it should be clear that the US Army and the US Navy were very different organizations.

How to explain?

I just came across this passage in a 1941 essay by the British author, George Orwell about what it means to be British:

"It is quite true that the English are hypocritical about their Empire. In the working class this hypocrisy takes the form of not knowing that the Empire exists. But their dislike of standing armies is a perfectly sound instinct. A navy employs comparatively few people, and it is an external weapon which cannot affect home politics directly. Military dictatorships exist everywhere, but there is no such thing as a naval dictatorship. What English people of nearly all classes loathe from the bottom of their hearts is the swaggering officer type, the jingle of spurs and the crash of boots. Decades before Hitler was ever heard of, the word ‘Prussian’ had much the same significance in England as ‘Nazi’ has today. So deep does this feeling go that for a hundred years past the officers of the British army, in peace time, have always worn civilian clothes when off duty."

So. Did you ever hear of a naval dictatorship?

By the way, the dislike of standing armies Orwell refers to already existed in America in 1776. Our constitution attempted three ways of limiting the size of the Army: (1) by limiting the budget for the War Department (Army) to no more than two years at a time. There is no such limit for the Navy budget; (2) by stipulating that "the people's" military will consist of "well-regulated militia." The purpose of the Second Amendment was precisely to prevent a large standing army; (3) by requiriing a declaration of war by the Congress before calling up the militia and sending it off to war.

Most of our military actions from 1776 to 1940 were carried out by the Navy/Marine Corps team. Such small wars were viewed as within the executive power of the president to pursue and did not require a declaration of war.

We abandoned that constitutional arrangement with the so-called unification of the armed forces in 1947.

Good Friday Earthquake Fifty Years Ago - Alaska

I had forgotten that today is the fiftieth anniversary of the Good Friday earthquake that devastated Anchorage, Alaska. Until NPR mentioned the anniversary.

I had been stationed at the US Naval Communication Station on Adak in the Aleutian Islands until September of 1963. Liz and I and our two boys landed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, rented a car and took a few days to explore Anchorage, Palmer and the Matanuska Valley and then drive up to Fairbanks to visit my sister and her children.

My previous connection with Alaska is that I lived in Anchorage from 1951 to 1954, graduating from Anchorage High School in 1954.

Anchorage in 1963 was much the same as it had been in 1954.

I haven't visited there since 1963, so I remember it as it was.

Not like this: