The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: The Call To Wisdom, And St. Paul's Wisdom

OS sends greetings to HM and to all her subjects. In the past sixty years, this country has had as head of state Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and HimselfTheWinnerOfTheNobelPeacePrize. Apart from the first two, arguably Ford and definitely Reagan, it has been a pretty disappointing cast of characters at the helm.

Ya'll have had the Queen, who has worked at looking after things in challenging times. She has dealt with some serious knucklehead Prime Ministers, especially in Blair, Brown and Cameron, but England is still doing better than that train wreck across the Channel, Europe. She's one of the main reasons why.

In the US, the live video feed of this morning's service was blocked, and the BBC Radio Coverage was shameful, with the self-impressed presenters chattering over the service and making certain to downplay any Christian content. Shame on them, and OS hopes his readers in the UK will take the matter up with the Beeb. Ya'll deserve better. You're paying these clowns to chatter over the great events of your history.

Still, bits of video were posted, and OS shares two of them with you.

The anthem for the day, based upon the Old Testament reading from Proverbs 8 was the newly-composed 'Call To Wisdom', sung by a choir dawn from across the UK.

Lord of wisdom, Lord of truth, Lord of justice, Lord of mercy;
Walk beside us down the years till we see you in your glory.
Striving to attain the heights, turning in a new direction,
Entering a lonely place, welcoming a friend or stranger. 

I am here, I am with you.
I have called; do you hear me? 

Silver is of passing worth, gold is not of constant value,
Jewels sparkle for a while: what you long for is not lasting.
Rulers govern under me with my insight and my wisdom.
Those who love me know my love; those who seek me find their answer. 

God the Father and the Son, Holy Spirit, co-eternal;
Glory be ascribed to you, now and to the end of ages.

Words: Michael Hampel (b.1967), based on Proverbs 8. 1-17
Music: Will Todd (b.1970)

The second video features David Cameron reading the New Testament lesson from Romans 12.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual worship. Do not be confor med to this world, but be transfor med
by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of
God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For
as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the
same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
we are members one of another.

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the
leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one
another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not
lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in
suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend
hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those
who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another;
do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than
you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble
in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably
with all.

Romans 12. 1-18

How very appropriate to make the Prime Minister broadcast these words to the world. The inspiration, truth, poetry, aspiration and inherent optimism of St. Paul's vision for how society should run (in light of the the Gospel he so eloquently described in Romans 1-11) stand in dissonant contrast to how governance is practiced these days. These sorts of events are not for nothing--words have power, especially well-written words spoken in front of millions. OS hopes that the public presentation of these words will have some sort of restraining effect upon all in public life, on both sides of the pond.

As for Her Majesty: God bless you, and thank you for all the ways, great and small, you have looked after your part of the world. You have blessed us all.

Trader Alessio Rastani on BBC: The Markets Are Toast

Mr. Rastani's comments really rattled the normally unflappable BBC interviewer (and evidently, her colleagues) with his candor. It is shocking to listen to at first, but it is hard to disagree with much of it. His candor about his role was honest and bracing: I'm a trader, it's my job to make money.

This is no ordinary 'talking-head' moment--well worth a look.

A Quick Memo For Future Western Governments: A Lesson From Libya

Date: 7 March 2011

[begin memo]


Lissen-up, ya'll. Only got time to send this memo 'round once.

If'n you sell boatloads of gee-whiz-modern weapons to lunatic dictators, 'cuz ya wanna make some dough and curry their favor, remember this: The most likely target for your toys will be the civilians in that country, and you'll be left to clean up the GodAwfulHumanitarianTragedy created by those lunatic dictators, to whom you sold those boatloads of gee-whiz-modern weapons to make some dough and curry their favor.

And, no matter how much cash you make today, you'll be spending shitloads more on the cleanup of the GodAwfulHumanitarianTragedy before too long.

And you'll end up like Lady MacBeth, desperately trying to wash the blood from her hands.

Better off drilling for our own oil and gas, mining our own coal, developing our own hydro and nuke capacity. Lots cheaper, and saves millions of lives.

And, if'n you don't believe OldSouth, you can hit the BBC Live Feed here, and see fer yerself.

Shit-fahr, yall. Don't take my word fer it.

[end memo]

The Libyan Civil War: Gadafi's Mercenaries Being Trucked In From Mali

The BBC reports large numbers of trained, equipped, and very well-paid (thus highly-motivated) mercenaries are being trucked in from Mali, over the southern border of Libya.

Members of the Tuareg community in Mali say a large number of men from the Tuareg ethnic group have left Mali in the last week to join pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.

"About 2-300 have left in the last seven days," said a senior elected official, who did not want to be named, from the Kidal region in the north of the country, where many Tuareg live.

Another Tuareg man from Kidal said: "It's true many young men are leaving. It all started about a week back."

He said he had spoken to a convoy of 40 vehicles who are in southern Algeria waiting to cross the border into Libya.

The elected official said: "They are being paid about $10,000 (£6,000) to join up and then I've heard they are being told that they will get $1,000 a day to fight."

Much more, and much more chilling, to be read at the link.

Gadafi has decided to stand and fight it out. All he has to do is:

1. Not get killed or injured.
2. Inflict massive bloodshed and chaos, thus wearing down any who might oppose him.
3. Hunker down, and not lose for a year.
4. Spike oil prices ToTheMoonAlice.
5. Export some chaos while he's at it, just to keep the West busy.

He saw what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is not stupid, just evil.

He knows that, even if we had the resources to launch some sort of massive military initiative (which the US, UK and NATO together now lack), there is no willingness to undertake it. No sane US politician is going to risk the life of a boy from Topeka to guard the border between Libya and Mali, attempting to stem the flow of fighters and arms.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

If we had our own domestic sources of oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, and thus impervious to the crazies who run oil-exporting countries, we would save countless lives around the world. If the Gadafis and Chavezes and Iranian kooks can't hold the world hostage, the world settles down. Lybia, Venezuela and Iran may still be terrible places, but the misery is localized, not an item for export.

Of course, we have a President who steadfastly is ignoring a federal court order to allow drilling to resume, and who will not will not will not allow this country to do the simple things necessary to secure its energy needs domestically.

Do we ever ponder why he seems to embrace chaos and poverty, when a path to prosperity and order is obvious?

The Gulfstream Moment Has Arrived: Mubarak To Step Down

Enuf wuz enuf wuz enuf...

It appears the military has stepped in, and let him know it's over.

From the BBC:

Hossan Badrawi, secretary general of the National Democratic Party (NDP), said Mr Mubarak would "most probably" speak to the nation soon.

It comes on the 17th day of protests against Mr Mubarak's 30-year rule.

The Egyptian military has said it is ready to respond to the "legitimate demands of the people".

In a statement on Egyptian state TV, it said the safety and security of the people was paramount.

Earlier, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told BBC Arabic that the scenario of President Mubarak stepping down was being discussed.

The BBC's Lyse Doucet, in Cairo, says the fact that President Mubarak's departure is even being talked about is a huge development.

Our correspondent, who spoke to Mr Badrawi, says the 25 January movement - the day when the protests began - will see this as a great victory.

Now, the real challenge begins--how to keep the place from descending into chaos, and construct some sort of workable political system that operates much more openly than before, and allows the citizens to have some opportunities. Without starting a war, and keeping the Suez Canal open.

It probably won't look like a pure Jeffersonian democracy, but here's hoping that the populace is educated and secular enough to avoid becoming another Iran.

(Oh, and by the way, gotta find a place for his Gulfstreams to land, secure that bullion and those antiquities he's taking to keep himself and the harem comfortable...Miz Hilary???)

BBC Live Stream here.

Green Shoots Award: 'The Choir' On BBC America

OS got the heads up from a good friend, headed for his remote, and spent the happiest hour of TV he had seen in many months.

'The Choir' has just made it to the US on BBC America.

He hates most 'reality' shows, but this is not about narcissists acting out their most evil instincts for the cameras. It's about a young musician, Gareth Malone, who takes on the project of taking a group of kids in a government school in the UK, turning them into a choir, and getting them ready for competition in the Choir Olympics in Beijing.

The first episode begins with the audition of some 140 kids, trying to find a couple of dozen who show enough promise. He doesn't even get that, but begins anyway. The episode ends with the kids recording their entry recording, four weeks later. The transformation of all the lives involved--choir, families, conductor, and school has begun.

This is what good music teaching does. It transforms lives, breeds discipline, esprit-de-corps, confidence, desire to excel. It breeds hope in lives that seem to have so little of it in their circumstances. 'If I can do this, perhaps there's a future for me out there in one of those other disciplines as well.'

It's not complicated, doesn't require some massive government program. Choral music education is the most cost-efficient of all, as the instruments come pre-installed in the students' bodies. Add one competent teacher with a lot of drive, a piano that is kept in tune, an accompanist, and a few bucks invested into the print music, and you've got the core of a potentially great program. It doesn't necessarily have to take place in a school--churches and community centers do just as well.

(And, unlike football or basketball, everyone graduates with their knees intact.)

OS hopes you enjoy this preview, and will tune in for the episodes.

Mexican Mass Grave Discovered: Drug Cartel Body Dump, At Least 55 Bodies

Front page on the BBC, buried in the New York Times.

OldSouth is unsurprised. After all, the White House and its cheerleaders have little appetite for revealing news about Mexico.

So, from our British cousins:

Mexican police say 55 bodies have been recovered from an abandoned mine that appears to have been used as a mass grave by drugs gangs.

Human remains were first discovered in the silver mine near Taxco in Guerrero state at the end of May.

The bodies appeared to have been thrown down a 200m (650ft) ventilation shaft over a period of time, police said.

Earlier reports that 77 bodies had been recovered were mistaken, officials said.

Only six have so far been identified - one was the director of a local prison.

Guerrero state is a focal point for drug-related violence that has claimed more than 22,000 lives in Mexico since 2006.

Police are now checking other mineshafts in the area to see if bodies have also been dumped there.

As well they should!

Now, what's the US government's reason for its refusal to aggresively enforce our southern border?

OS thinks that at least a few of those bodies are casualties of our government's negligence. And the bodies just keep stacking up...

Does this lend insight into why Arizona has acted to defend itself? Again, don't bother looking for this stuff in the Yew Nork Times.

Charts Tell Their Stories

It's an ugly, dark secret, but OS has a Facebook account. He does not live there, like some he knows, but he checks in about every other day.

He has a friend who is so very excited about last week's events, and shared a link the to BBC's announcement.

It has a nifty chart embedded, showing the growth in medical costs in the US, and then comparing them to other nations' stats. Very nifty, very informative, very seducing to someone who doesn't have a grasp of history.

(You'll have to hit the link to see it, it won't lift out directly.)

It shows health care spending (and inflation) on a moon shot since about 1970. Things happen for a reason. So, what happened shortly before the moon shot?

Well, Lyndon Johnson, that paragon of statesmanship, signed a bill into law establishing Medicare, promising it wouldn't cost very much, and that it would save us money over time. At about the same time, Medicaid was mandated at the state level, with the same promises. Anyone who objected was heartless and stupid. Lawyers discovered that there was money to be made in medical malpractice litigation. The doctors' insurers started charging premiums to reflect the new realities. Then, as a result of deficits run up by Washington, trying to run a welfare state, a war in Vietnam, and keeping the lid on in places like Europe and Korea, there was a run on the US Treasury's gold supply. Nixon felt obliged to abandon the gold standard, and we went to a fiat currency. A general inflation, lasting for over a decade, erupted. No restraints ever were placed upon either government spending or medical litigation. Inflation abated in other sectors, never in the health-care sector, because that part of the economy was now effectively under the sway of Congresses and White Houses, all looking toward the next election.

Moon shot!!

Of course, none of that info is in the BBC chart.

Here's another chart, courtesy of Karl Denninger:

Another, more serious moon shot. And, in reality, the first one helped in great part create the second.

My Facebook friend is young and idealistic. He would have loved last week's pep rally at George Mason University. He's not old enough to understand the tragic inevitability of the math that awaits him in his lifetime, and that of the children he hopes to raise. He can't, he's not old enough.

He can't connect the dots between this generation's expansions of spending and entitlements, and the moon shot to come. 

Sadly, the dots will connect for him and his children.